Argent Romance
by Sungold
Summary: A blood elf mage arrives at the Argent Tournament to become a champion and face Arthas to avenge her family. She meets a human hunter who wants the Scourge eliminated, and is attracted to him. What has fate in store for them? R&R please! Set in WoW WotLK.
1. The Argent Tournament

**Disclaimer: Warcraft and World of Warcraft belong to Blizzard. **

Alyna Spellfire was not in the mood for this kind of thing today. The Argent Tournament's grounds were barely three hundred meters ahead of her, and this idiotic rogue, thought she was a valid target for robbery. He probably thought she hadn't seen him, too. As if! His steps were noisy, she could see his breath turn into vapor pretty easily, and to top it off, his footprints clearly betrayed his position. He slowly walked towards her, while she muttered something. He raised his dagger to strike, and brought it down upon her, trying to stab her in the back, but something stopped him, as if a barrier did not allow his strike to pass through. Alyna turned quickly, annoyance in her eyes. "Go away, rogue."  
"Hand me your money, elf."  
"No. In fact, hand _me_ your money."  
"What? I'm the one with a weapon here!"  
The blood elf growled, and he was thrown away as the air directly in front of him exploded. He stood up, but immediately a fireball threw him further away from the mage. "I said, hand me your money, idiot." The elf suddenly appeared in front of him, her hand extended. The rogue grabbed coins from his pocket, and held his hand. She moved her hand to take it, and he stabbed at her with a hidden knife, but again something prevented him from harming her. The mage sighed, annoyed. "Make peace with your maker, human," she said, and from her hand, an icy lance launched towards his neck. His scream was cut short by the aforementioned lance impaling itself on him. Blood began to flow and taint the snow, but Alyna moved quickly, taking his pouch and throwing the body into one of the many pits in Icecrown. She continued walking towards the Argent grounds, hoping the guards weren't looking in her direction.  
-

They weren't, so Alyna entered the encampment and sat on a ledge. '_Now, where was that letter?_' she thought, searching her backpack. She quickly felt paper in her hands, and took it out of her bag. She opened it and searched the note for the indications on the Tournament. '_So, Sunreaver Pavilion, on the north side, speak to Magister Sunhollow. Right. I should see if my horse has arrived while I'm there, too_'. She walked towards the tent, throwing a few glares to the Silver Covenant high elves in the way. She finally got there, and approached the magister. "Yes, mage? Do you desire to enter the Tournament?" he said, tired. Alyna nodded.  
"Alright, I'll enter your name in the rolls. You should go speak to them" Sunhollow indicated the two elves next to him, "they'll tell you what to do." Alyna nodded, thanked him and walked towards them. "Pardon, sir, but I was instructed to speak to you" she told the one in the left, "I just enrolled in the tournament."  
"Oh, really? Well, there are a few things we need some help with, and you do need some seals to advance into a Valiant, so here's what you have to do.."  
-

A lot of talking later, Alyna headed towards the stables. Both the Crusade and the Sunreavers had things for her to do, and she heavily doubted she was going to have much free time anytime soon. Well, if she wanted to become a champion, anyway. She sighed, and entered the small building. The man outside had told her that her mount had arrived, so it had to be here. "Oh, there you are" she muttered, petting it's head. Unlike some blood elves, she had a horse, a black quel'dorei steed, as they called them. It wasn't that she didn't like hawkstriders (she had thought about buying one, but in the end had decided against it), but she had shared so much with it. She didn't want to just discard him, just because now it was better seen to have a hawkstrider. Her sister had been angry at her for a while when she told her that (Alyna's sister was always following the latest fashions, and she had been annoyed by her friends that her sister didn't), but she had gotten over it eventually. Alyna shook her head, and focused on the mission at hand. She had to kill Cult of the Damned members, and damn well she was going to. The elf mounted her horse, threw her hood over her head, and rode out towards the closest enemy camp.  
-

Edward Whiteshot looked around, trying to estimate how many cultists there were in the camp. Probably about eighty or ninety necromancers, at least a hundred ghouls, a dozen abominations and thirty or so skeletons. '_Damn. Not a chance I can take them alone. I should go back to the Argent grounds and get some help._' he thought, but then he heard the soft clattering of hooves and snow and he turned. A hooded figure rode on a black horse towards the undead encampment. It wore a long dark robe, and it probably was a mage. _'Hmm. Maybe he -or she- can help me._' He rode his own horse towards the figure. It noticed him, and dismounted, observing Edward. He dismounted too, taking off his hood and walking to him -no, her, he thought, noticing the long strands of fiery red hair falling upon her shoulders, like a waterfall, so wonderfully- The woman cleared her throat, and Edward realized he was staring. He shook off those thoughts and faced her. "Hello, lady. I'm Edward Whiteshot. I take you're here to kill those undead, too?"  
"Alyna Spellfire, and yes, I am." She sounded sweet, like a blueberry on a hot summer day, just so really- damn, he was getting lost again. _'Focus, Edward, focus!_' he thought. "Well, I was wondering if you would care to kill them together? You see, they're quite a lot, too many for anyone to take on them alone."  
"Well, I suppose I could. But you don't see a problem in that?"  
"No, my lady, I don't see any problems in that..." he said, staring into her eyes. They were green, and it was like they had a whirlwind inside, trapping Edward's gaze in their glowing glory and- '_wait. Glowing green eyes... She's a blood elf!_' he realized.  
If she noticed his sudden surprise, she didn't show it. She took off the hood, revealing long pink ears. "Still not see a problem?"  
He could, of course, just say she was a blood elf and attack her or run away, but then, he wouldn't be able to look at those gorgeous- err, kill the cultists. Yes, that. "No, my lady. I see no problem with working with a fellow Argent member."  
She looked at him quizzically, but nodded. "Alright, Sir Whiteshot."  
"Please, call me Edward". He didn't know where _that_ had come from. He wasn't normally so extrovert. In fact, he was quite shy most of the time. "Shall we attack, my lady?"  
"Yes, Sir- I mean, Edward" Her ears suddenly turned redder, but Edward attributed it to the cold that was permanent in Icecrown.  
He smiled and whistled, and a white wolf suddenly ran towards them. Alyna looked alarmed, but Edward gave it a pat on the head. "He's Snowfang, my pet."  
"Oh.." she smiled, and reached out to pet him, before she stopped and looked at him "Can I?" Edward nodded, smiling. She petted it for a while, but then she remembered they had to kill some cultists. "You have a very nice pet, Edward."  
"Thanks. I like to think so, too. Shall we go?" She nodded, and they walked towards the enemy camp. Edward couldn't help but look at her, the way her hair fell on her back, slowly swinging and coming back... She had such pretty hair. '_Wait, what?_' he interrupted his thoughts and again, realized he was staring. '_Focus. Focus on the necrobastards._' She held her hand up, and he stopped. She muttered something and suddenly he felt smarter. Like he had just solved a really difficult puzzle. He looked at her and she mumbled something again, and Snowfang was covered in a green light, but it faded quickly. Alyna pointed at a necromancer patrolling nearby, his head covered in a skull-like helm. Edward took out his bow and whispered to Snowfang, while drawing an arrow and aiming for the cultist.  
-

**Author's Note: Please review! I know you want to...**


	2. Welcome, sister

**Disclaimer: I still don't own WoW, unfortunately. Blizzard does.**

Alyna felt strangely safe when attacking with the hunter. It was silly, she knew, she could handle any threat in this camp easily, but somehow the human made her feel... protected. Like he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. _'Alright, now that's just stupid, I barely met him, and besides, he's a human.'_ she told herself. It wasn't like he didn't care she was a blood elf (she had seen his face when he looked at her eyes), it was just logic. It would be faster and easier to kill the cultists together than separate. That was it. Just for the Argent Crusade. He probably wanted to be a champion, too. No need to read too much into it.  
Suddenly Edward threw her to the ground, and just in time, because a shadowbolt passed through the spot where her head had been half a second before. Alyna tried to focus, shooting her own magic at the necromancer. The Scourge spellcaster attempted to throw another bolt at her, but Snowfang bit his leg, and he lost his balance. One of Edward's arrows buried itself on his neck, and the two adventurers breathed with relief. That last necromancer was the leader of the camp, so their mission was over. "We should get back to the tournament grounds." Edward said, pointing at their mounts. Alyna nodded.  
"You are quite good with a bow, Edward." she told him as they mounted.  
"Thanks. You have amazing powers, too. If it wasn't for that green shield thing-"  
"Magic shield." Alyna interrupted.  
"-that, I'd have gotten so much shadowbolts I'd probably be dead. Or worse."  
Now was when she should thank him. She gulped. "About that, well... Thanks for saving me from...you know..."  
"You're welcome," he winked "you seemed a bit distracted there. What happened?"  
"Err...Well..." Her face was getting redder by the second, "I was just thinking about what horrible punishments those necromancers deserve." Relief washed over her face as she said it.  
"Yeah. What they did was awful. It's why I came here."  
"To do what?"  
"Stop the Scourge. I mean, killing the Lich King is top priority, but if the Argent Crusade, or the Alliance and the Horde just go somewhere else when they kill him, there will still be hundreds of thousands of undead destroying life everywhere with nothing to stop them. It's not like after they kill him they all just dissapear. They'll still be here."  
"Yes, I know what you mean." she nodded as the horses padded through the snow.  
"I think we should hunt them down, to the last zombie, skeleton or whatever horrible abomination they are. And those... those idiots, they actually raise them. Not just not attack them on sight like anyone with a decent mind should do, but add even more to their ranks. Necromancers must have an horrific hell waiting for them when the time comes." Alyna raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. "What?"  
"Well, and what about the Forsaken? They're not like the Scourge." She realized what she said after it left her lips.  
"Yeah, sure. Just like trolls aren't cannibals, orcs aren't warlocks and blood elves-" Edward stopped himself two words late.  
"Blood elves what?" She stopped her horse, and looked at him intently.  
"Blood elves..." He bit his tongue, but said it anyway. "Blood elves abuse the Light."  
"That's not true. The Sunwell-"  
"Was cleansed, I know, and now provides both arcane and holy magic." He sighed. "Look, no offense, but it's not that... Blood Knights don't even care for the Light, they don't respect it at all. They don't follow the Three Virtues, I'd be surprised if they even knew them."  
"What? I'm not a paladin nor a priest, and _I_ know them. Respect, tenacity and compassion."  
"But they don't follow them! Respect I won't say, because what they did to M'uru clearly shows they don't."  
"If you dare to say blood elves are not tenacious..." The temperature dropped substantially, and Edward felt the air around him was about to suddenly freeze.  
"I'll grant you that."  
"And compassion?"  
"Compassion does not exist in Blood Knights! They kill, pillage and destroy like it's nothing! Hundreds, if not thousands, of innocents murdered in their rampages! My-" He was about to say something else, but he bit his tongue.  
Alyna looked at him questioningly, but didn't inquire. "Like you humans were any better. Respect? Go talk to Garithos. Tenacity, I don't see you invading Lordaeron to get it back, except for the Scarlet Crusade... And compassion? Tell me, how many prisoners are being tortured in the Stockades right now? A hundred? A thousand? What race _is_ the Lich King?" Her voice stayed calm at first, but got louder and louder and in the last sentences she almost shouted. "Still, your point stands with some Blood Knights. But not all." Alyna sighed. It was true that a few paladins were kind of... savage. Just a few though. She glanced at him, and saw that he had his feet frozen and ice spikes had erupted from the ground. She quickly removed them and unfroze his feet. "I'm sorry for that. And for turning a reasonable argument into yelling."  
Edward looked at her like she was crazy. "No, I yelled at you first. Sorry."  
"Are we even then?" She sounded hopeful.  
"Yeah, sure. As long as you don't freeze my feet again." He let out a laugh.  
She smiled. "Alright."  
The Argent grounds were less than a hundred meters ahead of them. Alyna pulled her hood up, but glanced at it for a second. "Listen, Alysa, I don't think the high elves in the Covenant would appreciate seeing me with a Sunreaver, so we should part ways."  
"I understand." She nodded sadly. Alysa had rather enjoyed being with him, but it wasn't possible.  
"But..." he said, "The Argent Crusaders want to investigate something in Silverpine*. Could you come with me?" She blinked, surprised. Why would he want her there? "I mean, you're a mage, so you can create portals to there, right?" Ah, of course. Mage equaled taxi in the Horde, why wouldn't it be the same in the Alliance? Still, he _did_ say 'come with me', so that gave her an excuse to accompany him further. '_But why would I want to accompany him further? Why would I even give him a portal to inside Horde territory?_' she thought, but nodded anyway. "Great. Meet me at the gates tommorrow at dusk?" he asked, sounding hopeful.  
"I'll be there." Wonderful. No, not wonderful! Horrible! She was just saying that to make him lose time, right? Not help him. Humans all deserved to die, not to be portalled to Silverpine!  
"Thanks. See you then." He spurred his horse towards the Silver Covenant's tent. She sighed, and rided hers to the Sunreaver's. The elf who had told her to kill cultists saw her and smiled. "So, did you kill them?"  
"Yes. Their camp is destroyed, and their leader is dead. Burned all corpses, too."  
"Good. Here's your gold, and here's your seal. I have more things for you to do, too."  
"I'm listening." She pocketed her rewards as she said that.  
"Wonderful. So, what you need to do is..."  
-

Alyna spent the rest of the day doing missions for the Sunreavers and the Crusade. Her moneybag was increasingly heavy, and she was thinking about taking that class for flying in the cold weather of Northrend. It would definitely be a good investment, since she had to help with the Kvaldir in the north and the dragonhawk keeper had said something along the lines of 'I'll lend you a dragonhawk when the sun is black, Arthas does volunteer work, and you blood elves are accepted into the Alliance.' She briefly entertained the possibility of going to Dalaran, but the class lasted for three days, so she would have to do it after she went to Silverpine. Alyna sighed. She looked at the sun, which was already dissapearing in the horizon. She went back to the tournament grounds, received the rewards from the Sunreavers, and walked to the Argent tent. She spoke to the crusaders, again picked up rewards, and was about to leave when she noticed a human priest call for the sermon. Maybe she could check what Edward had said... It didn't hurt to know, after all. She sat on one of the back seats, next to a draenei. The alien acknowledged her, then focused on the priest again. Alyna now noticed it was the confessor, Paletress. She smiled at the quantity of attendants, and spoke.  
"Thank you all for attending this sermon. It's wonderful to see so many familiar faces! Today I would like to touch on the three virtues of the Light. These are dark and difficult times for us all. The armies of the Scourge amass to the south. Companions fall on the battlefield and rise to serve our enemy moments later. Many of you have experienced a betrayal of trust. Yet you persevere, as we all must. In these times, no one is a stranger to the virtue of tenacity. In the face of despair and hatred, we continue to stand true to our beliefs and fight on. There can be no doubt as to your tenacity... but there are other virtues to consider. Respect is the first virtue taught to those joining the path of the Light. Look across the aisle to those you would call enemy. Despite the hatred that separates you, there are qualities to respect in your opponent. Their prowess should be acknowledged. All of us gathered here have a concept of honorable combat. Conducting yourself with honor and treating your opponent as you wish to be treated shows respect. Respect your opponent on the field, whether he be your brother or your sworn enemy. No matter where your beliefs truly lie, such respect is acknowledging a connection...and in acknowledging those connections, you are closer to the Light. There is one further step on the path of Light: compassion. Rivalries abound in this day and age. It is easy to see differences wherever you turn. The challenge is in looking beyond appearances and understanding our similarities. Through this understanding, you can feel compassion for the losses others have suffered...even if the victim bears another banner. By feeling-"**  
"Alyna!" someone whispered on her ear. The elf sighed. The speech had been quite enlightening, if only on the nature of those who followed the Light. Or most of them, anyway. Still, that voice was familiar. She turned, to find a blond blood elf smiling at her. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was wearing Blood Knight armor. Her smile was a little forced, and her eyes showed hopefulness. Alyna whispered to her sister. "Niya. What are you doing here?"  
"Can't talk here. Come." she replied, moving towards the door. She glanced around, and seeing no one else, she breathed with relief. "How are you, Alyna?"  
"I'm fine. And you?"  
"I'm alright." Claps were heard from the other side of the door as the sermon finished. Alyna sighed.  
"What are you doing here, Niya? I thought you said you would stay in Silvermoon."  
"Yeah, well, you see, it's that, I mean-" Niya answered nervously.  
"You spent all your money, didn't you?" At the lack of a reply, Alyna sighed. She was sighing quite often these days. "Or should I say, the money I lent you? What did you spend it on?"  
"Remember that really nice protodrake someone was selling at the auction house?" Alyna nodded. That drake was overpriced as hell. "Well, you see, I met the guy who was selling it, and he said he'd give it to me half-price because I had such a nice smile and-"  
"You don't need to lie to me, Niya. I know your methods. So you sle-"  
"Shhh! Yes, but I don't need everyone knowing it."  
"Still, you should have like a thousand gold left, what happened with that?"  
"He offered me a harness. Like, for a fifth of what it was worth."  
"I assume the harness was solid gold, with traces of electrum, diamonds hanging on it and enchanted with double speed if it was worth a thousand gold."  
"No, it was eight hundred. It did have a few diamonds on it, but it wasn't gold. The drake wouldn't be able to fly if it was."  
"I know that. And the other two hundred? Did he also offer you a bridge in Tanaris, or something?"  
"No. It happened that he had a girlfriend, or wife, I don't remember-"  
"You didn't check if he had a wife?" Niya looked at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world.  
"Well, I kind of knew, but-" She ducked as a frostbolt flew over her head. Her sister had murder in her eyes. "Come on, just listen..."

_The door opened just as Niya was putting her robe on. The woman outside, dressed in a magister's suit, looked at her and at her husband, blinking repeatedly as she did so. Niya hurried with her robe, and that took her out of the stupor. "You unfaithful son of a-" she screamed, hurling a fireball towards the pair. Niya jumped out of the way, and grabbed the ticket for the drake and the harness in the desk before dodging another fireball.  
"And you, how dare you steal my husband from me! I'll kill you, you damned w-"  
Niya pushed her out of the way as she exited the room. She ran for the door, getting out of the house as another fireball crashed behind her. The magistrix chased after her, but Niya was quicker. She took a corner and almost collided with a Silvermoon Guardian. The many unfastened buttons on her robe, the fireball that came behind her and the fact she was barefooted told him what he needed to know, and the voice screaming the marriage between her parents when she was conceived, or rather the lack thereof, confirmed his suspicions. He smirked at the paladin, but pulled her into a corner when the mage passed in front of them.  
"Oh my. You know I could arrest you for being like that on public. Or, I could tell the magistrix you're here... so she can judge you, of course."  
"No! Please! Look, how much would it cost to keep you silent?"  
"Oh, I don't know, but I'm sure this pouch has enough." He smirked again and taked it, before testing it's weight and nodding. Then he checked if the magistrix was nearby. "Coast is clear. You may not want to be in Silvermoon for a while, though."  
"Thanks!" Niya said, before running out._

"-and then I ran back to my house, grabbed my armor and what little gold I had left, and got a mage to portal me to Dalaran, after which I bought a wyvern to here."  
"So, to recap, you slept with someone to get them to give you something, spent all your gold in that something, hit a magistrix, bribed a guard and came here."  
"...Yes."  
"You do realize ninety percent of the people here are followers of the Light that would try to kill you on the spot for that?"  
"Come on, it's not like I killed someone."  
"No, that would be the point where I send you to the nether to spend the rest of your life."  
"Just let me stay with you. And I wouldn't mind if you lent me some-" A frostbolt passed by next to her head as Alyna glared at her with a 'are you freaking serious' look. "OK, OK! I'm sure I can find some of that ten percent you mentioned and-"  
"No. If I find you with _anyone_, anyone in this camp, I will freeze you in a block and throw you down to the Kvaldir. Do some missions for people around here, they pay a lot."  
"Fine. Where are you sleeping, anyway?"

**Author's Note: *I put Silverpine because it'd make more sense that Alyna could teleport them there. In the game, the Alliance has that quest in Westfall.  
**That's the original speech she does, not anything I wrote.  
SilvanSprite: Thanks! I'll try to update every one or two days :)  
Also, to the other readers: Review? Please? If you don't think something is alright, be it lore, spelling or grammar, I'd like to know so I can adjust it appropiately. Well, until the next time!**


	3. Uncorrectable

**Disclaimer: I still don't own WoW. Otherwise, kobolds would be a playable race.**

Alyna woke up early the next morning. Her sister was still sleeping on the other side of the small tent, mumbling nonsense. Alyna dressed and was about to leave the tent when Niya spoke. "Where are you going?"  
"Breakfast. I thought you were asleep" she replied.  
"Can't you summon some muffins or something?" Niya said, still a bit sleepy.  
"Yes, but I don't want muffins. I saw something I'd like to try in a shop nearby."  
"But I want muffins. Blueberry please."  
Alyna sighed, and conjured some. "I'm not a vending machine, you know."  
"Of course. I don't have to pay you." Before her sister had any chance of replying, the paladin added "So what are we doing today?"  
"I don't know, what do you want to do?"  
"Well, I was reading your journal yesterday" Alyna glared at her, "and I found you had to hunt sharks. That sounds exciting."  
"There is a problem with that. We need a flying mount to get to the ship where the shark-hunters are and back. It's down there." She pointed at the crag behind the Argent encampment. Niya smiled darkly.  
"I have an idea."

Alyna stood on the edge of the crag, looking at the ship below. "What's your idea?"  
"Oh, you'll see." She hugged her sister.  
"I know we're family but- AHHHH" The mage was interrupted as Niya jumped off the crag, still holding on to Alyna. "Come on, do your slow fall thing."  
"I DON'T HAVE ANY FEATHERS YOU IDIOT!" she bellowed, staring at the paladin with murder on her eyes as they fell towards the sea.  
"You could've told me before I jumped!"  
"You could've told me you were going to jump!"  
The water was nearing faster and faster, threatening the two with a cold death.  
"No! I'm too young to die by hypothermia!" Niya screamed, grabbing the mage tighter.  
"Hypothermia? Wait!" The air around them started to freeze, before sealing them both in an ice cube. It plummeted to the sea, and after a few minutes the waves threw them to the shore. The ice melted, and the two elves were free. "I'm cold now, why did you freeze us?"  
Alyna stepped over to her sister, and slapped her. "AGH! Why in hell did you do that?"  
She slapped her again. "Shut up. I had enough of you for today, and probably the rest of the year. You almost killed us!"  
"Well, I didn't know you didn't have any feathers! I mean, every mage must have at least two or three at all times, just like portal runes!"  
"I will say this one last time. I am not a taxi, I am not a vending machine and definitely I am NOT a fall cushion!" she yelled.  
"Sorry to interrupt your very polite conversation, madames, but the captain wants to speak with you." An elven sailor stood in a rowing boat near the small bit of shore where they were. "Something about almost falling on our ship and breaking it, but I'm sure it's nothing." He smirked, motioning for the two elves to board the boat.  
"Sorry, sir. My sister has kind of a temper when she's stressed. I told her to just slow fall us, but she didn't listen." Niya said, in a most calm voice. Alyna opened her mouth to speak, but her surprise was too big. She jumped into the boat, and sat on the back.  
"It's okay." the sailor said, helping Niya walk into the boat carefully. She smiled at him. "The captain is comprensive, he'll certainly forgive her." The paladin nodded gratefully and took an oar, as did the sailor, and then they started rowing towards the ship. They were hoisted up and the male elf again helped Niya get out of the boat, before doing so himself. Alyna simply jumped out, and a man motioned for her to follow him to his study. "Now, tell me, mage, why the hell did you almost break my ship with an ice cube?"  
"Well, me and my sister were falling. I didn't want to die!" she said defensively.  
"Why didn't you just slow fall yourselves, then?"  
"I didn't have any feathers."  
"Why did you even jump then?" he replied, inquisitively.  
"I did not jump! My sister pushed me!" The captain raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.  
"What brings you here to my ship?"  
"Shark-hunting. The Crusaders want meat for one of their trapped creatures."  
"Oh, again? Well, there's some fresh meat on the deck, you can take it if you want."  
"Thanks. Oh, and also, do you have any means of getting back to the tournament grounds? I'm afraid we don't have any flying mounts."  
"I have some hearthstones, you can take those, too."  
"Thanks again." She smiled. "I have to get my sister before she starts causing trouble." She got out of the cabin and looked around, before grabbing the shark meat. "Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen my sister?"  
"Yeah, she's down there." The sailor pointed at the stairs. Alyna muttered a quick thanks and went down. "Niya? We have to return to the tournament, where are you?"  
A sound of creaking wood and hurried steps was heard from a room nearby. The mage opened the door, to find Niya adjusting one of her bracelets. "Oh, hey sis. Let's go." she said, nervously. Alyna raised her eyebrows. "Something wrong?"  
"No, nothing! Let's go!" she answered, pushing her towards the stairs.  
"You are lying."  
"I'm not!"  
"Yes." Alyna threw her sister off her and went back to the room. She saw the sailor that had brought them here, putting on a tunic hurriedly. "No! Please! It's not what you think!" Niya said from behind her.  
"What is it, then?" the mage asked, raising her eyebrows.  
"Er... Well, maybe it's what you think! But we didn't do anything! Don't freeze me!"  
"No, I won't freeze you. Clearly you are uncorrectable."  
"It's not like that!"  
"Really? What's his name, then?" The sailor was about to speak, but Alyna interrupted him. "Shut up. I'm talking to my sister, not you." Niya remained silent. "I see. It's not like that, no, of course, it's worse! Do you know what you are, Niya? You are a-"  
"I'm Lirei Arcanesea, ma'am." the sailor said. "She knew it."  
"But that's not a blood elven name, that's..." She turned around and then saw his eyes. They glowed faintly with a blue tint. "We are _so _going right now." Alyna grabbed her sister's arm and started channeling the hearthstone spell. Niya looked at the high elf apologetically. She whispered something, but Alyna didn't hear it.

Seconds later, they were standing in the Sunreaver Pavilion. "Oh, you brought the meat. Here's your seal, and here is your money." one of the elves said, handing the mage the items. She grabbed them and stormed off. Niya muttered a thank you and followed her to the tent.  
"Alyna, I'm sorry, but it's that... that..."  
"It's what? It's nothing, like you said. Look, after that, I realized something. I can't do anything about you, and actually, I shouldn't. You're a grown adult and can make your own choices. Frankly, I think the path you're following will lead you to your doom, but who am I to know? I just have one condition: Get your own tent."  
Niya nodded meekly. "Okay."  
"Also, I'll be in Silverpine for a few days. Take care of yourself, and all that." She tossed her sister one of the bags they gave as rewards for helping the crusade. "Have that, and take care of it, because I am not giving you a single copper from now on. Now, please, get out of my tent. You can get your own in the Crusaders' building." Niya nodded, grabbed the bag and exited the tent.

Alyna reclined against the wall, dressed in a black netherweave robe with green runecloth threads embedded on it. Her hood was up, hiding her features (except her eyes) from onlookers, and she wore dark gloves with a strange marking on them. A felsteel dagger rested on it's sheath at her belt, slightly glowing with an emerald tint. Her black boots rattled the ground at a tune, but it was quite low, so only she could hear it. Edward had said he would be here at dusk, and he hadn't arrived yet. She was starting to get slightly worried, but the more rational part of her mind dismissed it as it was likely he was simply late. The more pro-Horde part said she had been tricked here in order to lose time. Or maybe an ambush. The mage looked around, and she was relieved to find him walking towards the gates. She motioned for him to come, before checking her pockets to see if she had everything she would need for the journey. Her portal runes were there, as was arcane powder and a large quantity of light feathers. Her journal, ink and paper, and a herb bag were there also, next to her wand. Edward seemed to have everything as well, seeing the backpack in his hand. Snowfang followed him closely, looking for any threats.  
"Hey." the hunter said, smiling at her. "You ready?"  
"Yes. Shall we go?" she replied.  
"Yeah, go on." he nodded.  
She took out a portal rune and laid it out in the ground, before muttering an incantation. A black spot appeared in the air, and it grew and grew until it reached the size of a door. It seemed to have a whirlpool in the middle, glowing darkly. "There is a problem, however. I haven't visited any place in Silverpine where I could attune myself to it's ley lines. I can make a portal nearby, in Tirisfal, however." She saw his worried face and added "Don't worry, it's just half a day's travel of Silverpine, and with no Forsaken towns in the middle, I assure you."  
"If you say so." He still didn't look too convinced. The hunter took a deep breath, and crossed the portal, followed by Snowfang.

Edward did not arrive, as he expected in a corner of his mind, to the middle of Undercity or the center of an active volcano. In fact, he arrived at a small cave a few hundred meters south of some mills. He could see some gnolls walking nearby, and, in the distance, a pumpkin farm. He jumped as something crashed into him from behind, and then he realized he hadn't moved out of the portal's way, causing Alyna to collide into him, sending them both into the floor. "Sorry." he said apologetically.  
"It's fine. Err... Do you mind getting off me?"  
Edward then realized he was lying above her, and immediately stood up, his cheeks turning a deep red. "Sorry...again." She said nothing, looking at the floor.  
"Let's go." She nodded, and walked out of the cave. He followed her, putting his hood up as he went. He looked at her, watching the sweet sway of her hips as she walked, then noticed he was staring. Again. Edward shook his head to focus, but the only thing that did was making him imagine her fiery red hair falling onto her shoulders like a river of lava flowing down a volcano as she took off the hood, her hands falling further down, tearing the robe and-  
"Kragosh ogring!" a loud, angry voice asked. It sounded like someone was smashing an axe into a rock. "Mok'tar nar ka yegrosh mik!" An orc wolf-rider wearing what apeared to be the Kor'kron uniform jumped in front of them, weapon at the ready and pointing towards Alyna.  
"Nar Alyna tor'igar, raek era'gosh kersol Eurion." she said, and lowered her hood. Edward now realized she was speaking Orcish. The greenskins' language sounded foreign in her tongue, brutish and rough. "Yarik krasu kron, mik ka?" the mage added, a sarcastic tone to her voice.  
"Zug zug. Krasu yarik kron tar. Swobu."  
"Al diel shala." Edward noticed she now had spoken Thalassian, as it had sounded just _right_, swift and natural. He doubted the orc had understood her, but the warrior nodded and rode off, so he didn't care.  
"What was that?" the hunter asked, questioningly.  
"He asked me who we were and what we were doing here. I told him we were both blood elves heading for Undercity, and he left."  
"Not a very good guard, was he?"  
"I don't know. When he left, he seemed like he was heading somewhere important, and didn't want to lose time on us."  
Edward raised his eyebrows. "Let's hurry before any other guards come." She nodded, and increased her pace. The hunter was trying his best not to remember what he was thinking before the orc came, but failing miserably. He didn't notice her panting until they were almost in Silverpine, and then he thought it was his imagination too, except at one moment, she just stopped and said "We're going to camp here."  
He was about to say he could go on for while more, but the way she dropped her bag to the ground and sat told him what he could or couldn't do was not in question. "Okay."  
He took two tents out of his backpack, and armed them while she started a fire. She conjured some bread and cheese, and made sandwiches. They ate them in front of the campfire in silence, and then retired to the tents to sleep.

** WolfPaladin: Thanks! I'll try.  
Author's Note: Review? Pretty please, with sugar and chocolate and a little cherry on the top? I'll give you a cookie!**


	4. Or not?

**Author's Note: I'm really, really (really) sorry for not posting this before. I had exams in the past two weeks, so not really a lot of free time. Updates will now probably be on the weekends. There s**_**hould**_** be an update tommorrow, but I can't say for certain since I'll be studying most of the day. Again, I'm really sorry.  
Also, let's pretend my timezone is GMT +0 and it's still Saturday, 'kay?  
Disclaimer: I don't own WoW. If I did, high elves could be playable, too. **

-

Edward woke up early, feeling something wet in his hand. He opened his eyes a little, blinded by the sudden light for a moment. It passed quickly enough, and Edward saw Snowfang sitting next to him and licking his hand. Grumbling, he snatched his backpack and took out a chunk of meat, then threw it at the wolf. Snowfang eyed it suspiciously, and looked at the fish in the bag, growling. "I know you prefer fish, Snow, but those are not for you. Besides, they're salted and spiced, so I doubt you'd like them" said Edward, closing the backpack. Snowfang grumbled, but ate the meat anyway, and then left the tent. The hunter put on his armor, and followed. '_I should wake Alyna, if she isn't already, and ask her if she's ready to go'_.  
The mage's tent was a few meters in front of his. He walked to it and said "Alyna? Are you awake?" Silence. Not even breathing could be heard. "Alyna, are you there?" he insisted, before opening the folds to the tent. Inside, there was a neatly arranged pile of clothing in the floor, next to a book and some writing utensils. A half-eaten muffin was lying in a corner, but, apart from that, the tent was empty.  
Edward was about to go and search for her outside, but his eye caught faded words in the cover of the book. He picked it up, and noticed he was prevented from opening it by a lock on the side. He blew the dust on the cover, revealing the words, in golden letters, _Diary of Alyna Spellfire_. Maybe there was a key somewhere near that opened the lock? Something shiny was between the scribe's tools, but as he ruffled through them, he found it was nothing more than a silver pen. Perhaps it was in her clothing? He turned to analyse them, but then realized he was basically violating her privacy. '_This is wrong..._' he thought, and left the tent before his curiosity changed his mind.  
Still, he had to find Alyna. Footprints on the ground revealed she had gone west, into the forest. He ordered Snowfang to stay behind and guard the camp, and followed the footprints. He walked through trees and trees, making numerous turns and twists, but he didn't lose his way.  
Suddenly, he seemed to pass through a wall of thick air, and the forest turned silent. Not a single bird could be heard, until a loud _crash_ shook the earth. Cautiously, he walked towards the source of the sound, when two more crashes reverberated through the air. This time it had been closer, much closer. A clearing was nearby, and the sounds had came from there. He hid behind a tree, and ventured a look inside.  
Alyna was standing before a crater, her hood pulled down, and seemingly chanting. A flaming rock materialized in front of her, then flew upwards just to stop in mid-air and come crashing down into the crater with the sound Edward had heard before. He expected she would do it again, but she merely walked to the edge and began channeling again. Water appeared inside the crater and filled it completely. Then, flames appeared in Alyna's hands and threw themselves at the artificial pond.  
The mage put one of her delicate fingers in the water, and, seemingly satisfied, nodded lightly. She looked around warily, and, Edward not being a rogue, hid behind the tree again. He waited some minutes before he heard splashing sounds and risked a look. Alyna's robe was folded in the ground, and the elf was half submerged already, with her back to him. Her flaming hair, like lava running down a volcano, fell upon her skin, a clear contrast between the fire red of her locks and the snow-white of the skin. Edward could look at that for _hours_, and still not tire of it. Soft waves rippled through the pond, and a small cloud of steam rose in the air. The atmosphere was calm, almost like a painting.  
The hunter sighed, perplexed, but realized his mistake as soon as the sound left his lips.

A quiet _sigh_ reached her ears from behind. Alyna turned, the serene and relaxed expression she had not two seconds ago replaced by a furious one. She looked for the intruder, a frostbolt already forming on her hand. She heard footsteps somewhere behind a tree and threw it there. A muttered phrase caused the water in front of her to form into an almost humanoid shape, two bracelets in what would be it's arms.  
The elemental rose, waiting for orders. "Catch whatever is hiding around here," she told it in Aquan, the dialect of the water elementals, "and freeze it in place until I arrive." The being rushed into the forest, it's eyes watching for hidden shadows.  
Alyna grumbled, and headed for her clothes. '_And I was having a nice bath, too. Perhaps it was merely an animal of some kind. Still, I should go back to the camp'_ she thought.

Edward dodged a blast of water as the _thing_ pursued him. He was following his previous path from the camp, taking care of not focusing too much on the footprints, else _it_ got him, but enough that he didn't lose the way. He dropped one of his frost traps behind him, and heard a _pop_' as it activated, freezing the elemental. He turned, trying to think. How did you kill one of those things? An arrow to the 'head' had proven useless, but he remembered _something_, a conversation he had heard in Dalaran...  
_"Professor, could you help me? I have a question regarding the elementals." the young mage said, walking alongside a grey-haired archmage. Edward reclined against the wall as they stopped, listening in to their conversation. "What's your question, boy?" the archmage replied.  
"Well, you see, I know the words for summoning them, but whenever I try to, one comes and it immediately dissapears, as if banished."  
"I assume you didn't think of their bracelets, then?"  
"Bracelets, sir?"  
"Yes. An elemental, if brought from their home plane, will try to return as soon as he can, and, if he has nothing binding him to this world, that will be the second he appears. Wizards usually also materialize two magical bracelets that anchor them to Azeroth and force them to obey the summoner. If destroyed, the elemental will be free from control and will return to their home plane immediately. Dismissing the bracelets is also the most common method of 'unsummoning' them. More powerful mages sometimes use rings or pendants instead, but it's..."  
_ A frostbolt almost hitting his face shook Edward from his memories. He looked at the elemental, noticing the two bracelets adorning it's arms. Sword in hand, he dodged another blast of water and smashed the hilt on the left bracelet. It shattered easily enough, and he quickly hit the other bracelet before the thing blasted his face. With a _pff_ the water inside the being collapsed, and the broken bracelets clattered on the ground.  
The downside of destroying the elemental was that now he was completely and thoroughly wet. How was he going to explain this to Alyna? He hurried back to the tents and got into his own, quickly taking off his clothes and putting on new ones. "Edward, are you here?" a voice called from outside. "Yeah, I'm in my tent" he replied as he ruffled his hair. His hair. _'Oh, damn._'  
Quickly, he threw his hood up, and put everything in his bag. He did his best to appear innocent as he left the tent. Alyna eyed him suspiciously, but didn't press on the matter. "Did you have breakfast?" she asked.  
"No, I've only just woken up," he lied, "have you?"  
"I ate a muffin earlier. Have you seen anyone around here?"  
"No, but Snowfang dissapeared for a while. He came back, like, five minutes ago." That had sounded nowhere near as convincing as he had wanted it to, but Alyna seemed to relax a little. She muttered something and a croissant appeared in his hand. "Thanks" he said, eating it.  
"Shall we go?" she inquired when he finished.  
"Yeah, let's go."

Niya sat at the edge of the crag behind the Argent Tournament grounds. She ate a bar of something brown and dark a goblin had sold her. It tasted sweet, deliciously sweet. Like drinking honey, but with a hint of bitterness. She could eat this thing all day. A pity it was so expensive, though. Two gold for _one_ bar the size of her finger? Pff. She had still bought ten, though. This one was her seventh, and she had been eating them for about one hour, so it wasn't too bad. She savoured the last part of the bar, enjoying it, slowing the eventual end of this sweet slice of heaven, until a voice interrupted her.  
"My, you like chocolate, don't you?"  
She turned around, and a chuckle escaped his lips. "Oh, it's you, Lirei."  
The high elf smiled. "I thought you wouldn't remember my name."  
Niya smirked. "Hmm, and your last name was... hmm, Lightblesser?" He gave her a glare. "No, Helpbringer." The glare turned into horror. "Truthsealer? Faithkeeper?" He looked as if ready to jump off the crag. "Just kidding, Arcanesea."  
"I know, but, Lightblesser? Truthsealer? _Seriously_?"  
"Yeah. Uhm, about yesterday? I'm sorry. My sister..."  
"It's okay, I can understand her position. Do you agree with her?"  
She grabbed him and held him over the edge of the crag. "_Seriously?_"  
"I'd say you're the friendliest blood elf I've met, but then again, you are at the verge of throwing me down to a pretty bloody death" he smirked. She put him next to her again.  
"Sorry about that" she grinned, looking down at the sea.  
"So, do you want to continue what we were doing?"  
Niya poked him. "You dirty bastard" she said, jokingly.  
"What do you propose then, madame?" He replied, sarcasm evident on the last word.  
"Well, I'm pretty tired, so if you don't mind being my pillow for a while..." she rested her head on his shoulder.  
He chuckled. "'course not. But I have a counterproposal, since that Sunreaver over there is looking at us bad..." he nodded towards a female Valiant riding her charger.  
"Hmm? What?"  
"Do you like dragonhawks?"  
"Yeah, I have one in Silvermoon."  
"Well..." he took out a whistle and blew it. A blur of blue and white moved around them, making circles and eights and other shapes. "He likes doing that around strangers."  
"Oh." was all she said, entranced by the movement of the dragonhawk.  
Lirei blew his whistle again, and it stopped, glaring at him. Lirei raised his eyebrows. The 'hawk landed next to them, and he offered his hand to Niya. She took it and mounted in front of him.  
The high elf whispered something and the dragonhawk took off, flying towards the sea, almost touching it and then going upwards, then doing it again. Through arches of stone and around icebergs, it flew. The ocean rippled it's waves below them, brushing against Icecrown Glacier behind them. The sea wind blew against their faces, cold yet refreshing. Eventually, they arrived at a particularly large iceberg, and the dragonhawk flew around it, until Lirei told it to stop. A cave, barely visible from the air, stood on the side of the iceberg. They flew towards it, and the dragonhawk landed with a _huff_. Lirei was about to tell Niya to go down, but she had fallen asleep. He got down and carried her to the wall, where he put her next to him, her head resting in his shoulders. He relaxed with the continual crash of the waves beneath them, and he fell asleep, too.

**Author's Note: Again, I hope I can write a chapter for tommorrow, but I'm not sure. Sorry.  
SilvanSprite: Thanks! I'll see if I can fix it. (Also, slightly ironic that you said 'quick updates' and, well... Sorry.  
WolfPaladin: I read your review a week and a half ago, and it still cracks me up to do so. I just can't stop laughing, lol. Made my day. Thanks.  
Guest I: (Since there are two) Thanks! Although I'm kind of confused by the 'blood elf and night elf pairings' part (Edward is human, after all). There **_**may **_**be a night elf later on, though.  
Guest II: Thanks! *Holds cookie jar in hands* Lemon or chocolate chips?  
Ninfodora: Thanks. As I said before, there s**_**hould**_** be a chapter tommorrow, but it's not sure.**


	5. Inadvisable behaviour

**Author's Note: Here's the chapter, although it's kind of short.  
Disclaimer: AllYourWoWsAreBelongToBlizza rd :P**  
-_  
"Late again, Spellfire" said the grey-haired elf as a teenaged Niya hurried inside the exquisitely decorated classroom. She tried not to look at him, and sat at the back of the room. He looked like he was about to say something else, but a snicker from beside her got his attention. "Do you have any comments, Dawnsun?" the professor asked, annoyed.  
"No, sir. I was merely wondering what _interesting_ topic you were going to teach us about today?" a tan-skinned elf said, sarcastically.  
"Polymorphing, but if you're so captivated by it, why don't you volunteer to be my assistant?"  
The student hesitated for a second, but a look from Niya reassured him. "Of course, professor"  
"Good. Come to the front, if you mind." The elder elf took out his wand as he did so, and with a flick the blackboard cleared. "Now, as you all know if you read the texts I sent last class, or if you have any knowledge of etymology and logic, Polymorph is a spell that transforms the target into whatever the caster wants it to, be it a bear or a key, a crow or a pea. Generally battlemages utilize a sheep's form, as it is thought to be harmless and predictable in it's movements, but theoretically, you could morph it into anything." Casually, the wizard flicked the wand and the 'volunteer' transformed into a gorilla. Snickers plagued the classroom. "In practice, though, the first or second time you cast Polymorph, whatever it results are, they'll be like that for the rest of your life. For example, if my first Polymorph is a bear, the rest of my Polymorphs will be bears, too. This is the reason why students must think thoroughly what their first will be, and make sure the spell does not fail. Nevertheless, specially talented mages can keep two or three Polymorph forms, like in the case of the great wizard Jarigos, who was rumored to be able to transform into sheep, ants and goose with some preparation. Now, if you open your books in page one hundred and forty three, you'll..."  
Later that afternoon, Niya sat on a bench in Runeweaver Square, admiring the fountain. A hand touched her shoulder, and she smiled. "Hey there."  
"Thanks for covering for me in Arcane Studies, Kal. I really appreciate it" she said, turning her head. Professor Morningtreader was not lenient on late students, but he was easily distracted.  
"No problem. Our date tonight is still on, right?"  
"Of course" she smirked. "Still, it was kind of fun seeing you as a monkey. Gave me... information on what to expect." Dawnsun blushed, but sat next to her. They spent a long time there, just staring at the fountain. The sun was already setting on the west as Niya stood up.  
"Let's go." The pair walked towards the Wand and Flick, one of the few restaurants in Dalaran, since mages could conjure their own food and all.  
"Kel... Do you think this is all we'll ever be? Mages, sorcerers, spellcasters? I mean, sure, I like the arcane as much as the next elf, but..." she said, somewhat tired.  
He smiled sadly. "Well, I heard the Knights of the Silver Hand are accepting recruits these days."  
"A _paladin_, Kel, really? Do you see me rescuing peasants in distress, my white charger armored in blue motifs, shining armor reflecting the sun's rays, sword in hand to deliver justice?"  
He chuckled. "You would look better on black and red armor, probably."  
"I suppose... Why, you're thinking of applying?"  
"Well, yes. One of those human _parasites_ said elves 'could not handle the might of the Light'. I'll show that piece of garbage..."  
Niya smirked. "My, isn't that a little childish? I hope you're not like that later tonight, I'd be quite... dissapointed, to say the least."  
"Want to skip dinner? We can always cook something in my place if you want..."  
"Sure, gorilla." They_ _chuckled, and changed direction.  
Niya thought about the Knights... Perhaps she would try.  
_-  
A cold blast to her face awakened the Blood Knight. A little blinded by the light, she opened her eyes. Lirei's dragonhawk was flying around the cave crazily, throwing gusts of freezing wind wherever he passed. She looked at the high elf, who was still sleeping, and with an arm around her. "Lirei..." she whispered, her mouth less than an inch away from his ear.  
"Huh?" he replied, sleepy.  
"Wake up..."  
He grumbled something along the lines of 'just five minutes more...'.  
She would have to take it to the next level. "Wake up..." she whispered, and licked his earlobe. That made him jump a little. "Heh. That always works."  
"Damn, should've kept still and you'd have done it again."  
She smirked. "Perhaps you could... convince me to."  
He adopted a fake submissive tone. "What would you have me do, mistress?" That earnt him a chuckle from the paladin.  
"Tell your dragonhawk to stop flying around and calm down."  
"Oh, but I'd need to stand up..."  
"Mmh, you have a point, being like this is quite comfortable. Not counting the whole 'rocky surface and extremely cold temperature' thing" she said silkily.  
His smirk was blown off his face as the dragonhawk passed next to them and caused them to fall onto the floor. "Then again, now it's not so nice" the blood elf mumbled.  
He stood up and helped her to her feet, then reached for the whistle in his pockets, blowing it softly. The dragonhawk calmed a little, and came to rest near them. "Better now?"  
"Yes. Although, maybe we should see why he was acting so strange."  
"...I'd have suggested going back to where we were a minute ago, but you're probably right."  
She simpered. "Any ideas?"  
"Well, maybe there's a storm. Animals and specially flying ones can detect them better than we can" he offered.  
"There aren't any clouds around here, though. Other than that huge fog over there, but that's magical in nature."  
"Hmph. Still, we shouldn't try to return to the tournament grounds yet. I trust he has a good reason for acting like he was, and if he goes crazy again while we're flying, I doubt I'd be able to calm him down before he throws us off."  
"What do you suggest we do, then?"  
"We could explore the cave. There's a tunnel around here that goes down, but I've never went there."  
"Sure, I always love a little adventure."  
She lamented not having brought her armor, but then again, what could be the worst that could happen?

Kvaldir, that was. They had seen two guarding a passage further down, but the sentinels hadn't seen the pair. Niya and Lirei were hiding behind a rock, a few meters in front of the sea men.  
"I'll take care of the one in the right, you stay here and heal me, alright?" he whispered.  
She nodded. "But how are you going to kill him?"  
The high elf winked and quickly he became traslucent until he was completely invisible. A short knife was deposited in her hand. The paladin waited a few moments, until a _hiss_ of something flying across the air was heard. She looked over the rock, to see one of the Kvaldir lying in the ground, a blade in his throat. The other one was trying to stab Lirei, but his attacks were being parried and evaded, the more agile elf using his relatively small size to dodge the huge sword the vrykul raider wielded. In one moment the pirate managed a cut on his leg, but Niya whispered a few words and the Light washed over the wound, closing it. Lirei took advantage of the Kvaldir's surprise and stabbed his chest. He struggled, and fell to the ground. Losing no time, the high elf extracted the dagger and cleaned it.  
"So you're a rogue... Interesting" said Niya, leaning on the wall.  
"Kind of..." he replied, a pang of shame taking him for a second.  
"Hmph..." She murmured, and went down the passage, him behind her.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter. It's about 3 am now and goodness, am I tired.  
Still, review replies:  
SilvanSprite: Thanks! I'll see if I can get another chapter midweek, but it's unlikely.  
WolfPaladin: Haha, thanks. Your reviews are most amusing to read, sir. Especially the 'wait, that came out wrong' parts. xD**


	6. Field Trip

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late chapter (again). Was forced to go to a family meeting in the country, where they had no internet or computer. Short chapter, but there will be one tomorrow, rest assured.  
Disclaimer: Warcraft belongs to Blizzard, not me, fortunately for those of you who liked Kael'thas's death in BC D:**

The perpetual silence was becoming uncomfortable. They had been walking for five hours now, and not a word had been spoken between the two. Alyna mentally cursed, bored. Her legs ached from the walk in the forest, being used to traveling through the snow-covered landscapes on Northrend, and not to this uneven, mud-everywhere ground. She was rather hungry, too. Magical muffins were not really filling, and she hadn't even finished the one she conjured for breakfast, which had been a long while ago.  
She supposed Edward, what with being a hunter and all, was used to skipping meals and traveling long distances without stopping, and he had not shown any signs of tiredness or hunger. Perhaps she could learn something from him, and extend her tolerance a little. But she had to distract her mind somehow, and being silent was not helping at all.  
What to say, though? Alyna was not accustomed to starting conversations without a specific topic in mind. Without a point to the conversation, even. That was more something Niya did. Hmm. What would she say? The mage would have to adapt her words, though, since most of her sister's conversations ended in the same _thing_, which was definitely not what Alyna wanted. She just needed a starter. Something to get Edward to talk. Hmm.  
"Where are you from?" she asked, suddenly.  
"Eh?" came the reply, confused.  
"Where are you from?" the mage repeated.  
Edward looked at her oddly. "Stormwind City, why?"  
Her reply came stuttered. "No reason... How is it?"  
"You never visited Stormwind?"  
"Once, before the orcs burned it down, but it changed after that, I recall?"  
"But that was more than twenty years ago..." he replied, startled.  
"Yes, it was, I was quite young."  
"Hmm... Well, I hadn't been born yet when they destroyed it, so I don't know how it was before. It's almost everything stone now, white and blue, with a few traces of yellow. There are quite a few shops, but it's mostly houses." His answer came out slow, as if he were carefully considering every word before saying it. He seemed quite suspicious, too. Alyna cursed under her breath. Now he thought she was trying to extract information from him. Jolly good. "There are some statues. And bridges. Nothing else I particularly remember."  
'_Yeah, sure_' she thought sarcastically. The mage cursed her foolishness and ineptitude at picking a decent topic. She would make the worst spy to ever walk the earth. Perhaps a change of course in order. "What about your family?" she asked.  
He eased a little, but not much. "Well, thankfully my parents are both alive and well, and I have a sister. She's really annoying."  
Alyna chuckled softly. "Why?"  
"She likes to brag. A lot."  
"Hmm? What does she brag about?"  
"Mainly her gift for using the Light, but there are some others."  
"She's a priest?" the mage inquired.  
"I wish. No, she's a paladin" he answered, sounding annoyed.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Nothing. She's skilled, compassionate, righteous... Just perfect." Edward muttered under his breath something Alyna's ears did not hear. "What about yours?" he said.  
Her face darkened. "I... I have a sister, I suppose. No one else."  
"I'm sorry for your loss... I forgot you were a blood elf." He looked sincere. "We can talk about something else if you want."  
She smiled slightly, grateful. "How much further until the Black Knight's farm?"  
"At least six hours of walking more. Do you want to stop and eat now?" he added.  
The mage nodded, and they stopped, sitting on the ground. Snowfang rested against a tree.  
Edward took out some fish from his backpack, and handed one to Alyna. He rationed it, saving half for later, and they started eating.  
"Alyna." He said.  
"Yes?"  
"You said before that you visited Stormwind when you were young. How old are you?"  
"One hundred and sixteen. I understand humans don't live that long?"  
His gaping mouth was reply enough. "_One hundred? _I'm barely twenty-six!"  
She smirked, finishing her fish. "It's not that long."  
"You've lived more than I ever will..." A pang of sadness tinted his words.  
"Perhaps. But I could say the same of any draenei, and most night elves too. A dog, if they spoke, could say the same of you."  
"I suppose you are right." Seeing as they both had already eaten everything, he stood up. "Ready to keep moving?" Edward asked.  
She nodded. The hunter extended his hand automatically to help her up. Alyna looked at him oddly, but accepted it and stood up. They soon enough resumed their march south, talking.  
A pair of yellow eyes watched from afar, cold and calculating.

The pair reached the farm around sunset, the last remnants of warm orange light showing from behind them. It was not really large, but still covered a few acres. A lone house stood in the middle, almost falling to pieces from neglect. The door, dust-covered, creaked as Edward pushed it open. Nearly all windows were broken, pieces of glass scattered randomly on the floor. One of the stair's steps was crushed when Alyna walked on it, so they had to be careful to get to the upper floor. There was a room with a desk and an old book on it, but overall the building seemed long abandoned. The mage decided to examine the book while Edward and Snowfang searched for clues elsewhere in the house, and so they did.  
The hunter lit a lamp he found on the floor, and walked around, keeping an eye for anything suspicious. He found dark-red stains on the walls and ground, but this region had been ravaged by the Scourge, so that wasn't a surprise. Strands of grey fur lay around, too. Maybe the inhabitants of the house had once possessed a dog? Those strands seemed more wolfish than canine, though, similar to Snowfang's, but shaggy and messy, as if it's owner had never bathed in it's life. Looking more closely, claw marks were engraved upon the wall, too high to have been done by a dog. On a small corner, there was a dust-covered claw, and as Edward examined it, the claw marks and the claw were almost identical. He had to tell Alyna. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, through a window, he saw a large humanoid look at the moon, fangs showing in it's shadow. A ghastly howl resounded in the night air.  
Edward ran. Towards the stair, to warn Alyna of the danger they were in. As he edged on the room's door, he saw one of the creatures stand behind the mage, claw lifted and ready to strike. The elf hadn't noticed, so deeply entranced she was in the book.  
The worgen howled again, and brought his claw down to her head.

**Author's Note: Again, there ****will**** be another chapter tommorrow (Since it's a national holiday and there wasn't any chapter yesterday), so stay tuned.  
Also, sorry for the cliffhanger.  
Alexander Raphel: Thanks!  
KolfFusion: Thanks!**


	7. Books and Worgen

**Disclaimer: World of Warcraft belongs to Blizzard, which belongs to Activision Blizzard, which belongs to Vivendi Games, which belongs to Vivendi Universal, which belongs to... someone, I guess. (Not me, though.)**

Alyna skimmed through the pages in the book swiftly, searching for any clues in the words, the dates, anything. It was a diary, the mage had deduced that pretty quickly, written by one of the female inhabitants of the house, more precisely, the second-to-last youngest daughter, someone called Jane. Mostly it detailed her life at the farm, perpetual state of boredom, and deep hate for a neighbor, Mira.  
Approximately in the middle of the diary a company of paladins had passed through Silverpine, and Jane had fallen head-over-heels for one. The neighbor had, too, and they fought among themselves, in one particular episode ending up captured by the murlocs who lived nearby. The paladin had rescued them both and rodden off with the rest of his brothers-in-arms, but the neighbors had hated each other's guts since. Alyna was reading a part where Jane planned to convince Mira's parents that she was the devil incarnate, but a howl nearby brought her back to reality.  
Still, she hadn't looked behind her. It had probably been Snowfang, what with the moon being full today and all. Nothing to worry about, Edward could calm him easily before it attracted unwanted attention. The mage continued her reading, trying to focus on parts detailing Jane's family and any boys who might've grown up to train as knights and then going to the Argent Tournament.  
That was the important part, finding out if this 'Black Knight' story was true or if he was hiding something. Until now she had only heard mentioning of two twins who died in childbirth, and another of disease at ten. She supposed the Black Knight could be the family's father, but in the last pages of the book he died, murdered by the bands of ghouls running rampant across Lordaeron after Arthas' betrayal. Indeed, the only members of the family who had remained alive were Jane and her mother, and not even then, since the latter had chosen to drown herself in the lake after watching her eldest daughter torn apart in front of her. Jane's final destiny was not recorded in the diary, although the last entry mentioned fleeing to Stormwind.  
Perhaps Jane had masqueraded as a man and trained as a knight? That couldn't be, the Black Knight was definitely male, and it wouldn't make any sense to do so, women being accepted into the Army's ranks, so that only left-  
Another howl, this time much closer, caused her to grumble. If Snowfang couldn't control himself, perhaps one of the Forsaken would venture to investigate, and _that_ would be trouble. Alyna had handled lying to the orc in Tirisfal, sure, but he had an objective in mind and they had only been a momentary distraction, a bump in the road. Besides, he had been an orc, her more racist side commented, and Forsaken were much more versed in the arts of lying and detecting lies. Her words wouldn't hold water against them, and even if she put the 'We're for the Crusade, and they're neutral' excuse, it would look very suspicious, since she didn't have the Argent tabard now, and Edward didn't either. So she definitely had to make sure Snowfang stayed silent.  
She gave the book a last look, and was about to stand when a sudden fluctuation in her mana reserves alerted her. Alyna was no fool, and she always kept a magical shield on no matter the conditions. It had saved her life several times, and probably this one too. The fluctuation had been enormous, taking nearly half her arcane energies in less than a second. She immediately conjured a frost barrier, and turned around to face her assailant, a frostbolt already forming on her right hand.  
Fetid breath invaded her nostrils, and a huge, dark figure stood in front of her. Gray, almost black, unkempt fur covered it's whole body. A broken bracelet clung to it's left arm, while a leather loincloth was barely keeping the creature decent. Two ears, more proper of a dog than of a humanoid, fell on both sides of it's face. A wolfish face looked down at her, eyes flashing with a malignant red glow.  
A worgen. A freaking worgen, less than a meter away from her, on a full moon, and to top it off, it seemed hungry. The elf was shocked for a second.  
Alyna quickly recomposed herself and did what any mage did when faced with close-quarters, melee combat: She froze the monster's feet to it's ankles and teleported herself to the other side of the room, immediately starting to chant a polymorph spell.  
The worgen growled, and punched the ice on his paws until it gave way and he could move. He advanced towards the mage, ready to pounce on her. She smiled darkly as the last words of the incantation left her lips and a purplish, almost transparent, bolt flew at him.  
His fur began changing color into white, claws morphing to hooves, then suddenly it reversed, and the worgen became a worgen again, only this time, a necklace in his chest shimmered with energy, and his claws glew a slight purple. His face transformed into one of victory, Alyna's smirk into a horrified expression of surprise.  
The beast charged at her, fangs showing and prepared to tear apart the elf's flesh, but a white blur slammed into him, shoving the creature into the wall. Snowfang growled loudly, biting into his arm. The worgen answered with a howl of pain, but threw the wolf aside as if it was nothing, and started for the mage again.  
"Alyna!" a voice in the doorframe said, and an arrow impaled itself on the worgen's neck. Another followed, piercing his chest. Snowfang seized his chance and jumped on it's back, then raked it's face with his claws. The worgen growled and shoved him aside again, but the wolf clung to his neck and skin broke, dark blood flowing onto the floor. The creature howled one last time, and collapsed on the floor. The elf released a breath she hadn't known she was holding, and looked at her saviour. "Alyna! Are you alright?"  
Edward's expression was genuinely concerned, examining her for wounds. "No, I'm fine. Just... exhausted. That thing, the necklace... It took all my energy away, magical or otherwise."  
"It's okay, but we have to get out of here quickly. The place is crawling with worgen, I doubt we can take them all" he said, glancing downstairs. The hunter walked towards the door, alert.  
Alyna grabbed the book, and followed him, although her feet complained with every step. "You sure you're alright?" Edward asked, offering a hand.  
The elf took it reticently. "I'm fine" she repeated. Still, her unspoken plead did not pass by Edward unnoticed, and he put his arm around her to help her walk. She sighed, but a tinge of gratitude was there.  
They went towards the entrance downstairs, as silently and fastly as they could, with Snowfang trailing behind. Edward had his sword in his hand, but was more focused on not letting the elven mage fall.  
Growls and grumbles penetrated his ears, coming from the hallway on the front, so Edward changed course and headed for the backdoor. Howls from outside and inside the house kept him alert, and one of them had sounded dangerously close. He hurried, now less helping Alyna walk and more like carrying her with one arm.  
The floor creaked as he stepped on it, too old and battered to stand this kind of punishment. Behind him, Snowfang stopped. Edward was about to berate him to move, but a dark figure darted out from his side and stood between him and the door.  
It was small for a worgen, much leaner and slender. Still, the snout in it's face couldn't belong to anything but one of the wolfish creatures. Black hair, clearly distinct from the greyish fur in the rest of the body, was messy around the head, and red eyes stared at the hunter, hunger evident in them.  
Edward was about to strike, but as the moonlight entered from a window, it illuminated the worgen's features. The face in front of him was clearly a female's. He faltered... He had always thought of worgen as 'it', rather than 'he' and 'she'. He couldn't kill her... It wouldn't be right, he was a gentl-  
Any thoughts of gender-preferential treatment vanished from his mind as the creature lashed out, her claws raking Alyna's side. Blood oozed out of the wound, dripping to the floor.  
The strike came almost as soon as the previous one had stopped, hitting the monster's right arm and nearly ripping it off. He attacked again, stabbing her in the chest, before a howl from behind him warned of additional enemies.  
Quickly, he picked Alyna up in his arms and ran out of the house as fast as he could, Snowfang following at his side. His ears heard the sound of six pairs of feet hit the ground behind them. Edward doubled his pace, adrenaline flowing in his veins. He ran and ran until his legs gave out, and he fell to the ground, exhausted.  
The elf opened her eyes for a second, and she let out a whimper from the pain in her side. The hunter glanced up to her. "Alyna... Can you make a portal?" he asked, looking back at the forest, where howls pierced the night.  
"I...I can try." She reached inside her pocket for a gem and a portal stone, then chanted a few words. A dark rift in space formed in front of them, then grew to a door. A wave of pain washed over the mage's face, and the gem was consumed in the dark vortex. The pair crawled to it, and Edward was about to cross, when Alyna stopped, and weakly pointed behind them. "The diary... It fell when that worgen clawed me." She said, frustration evident in her voice.  
"It's okay, Alyna, we're lucky to have made it out alive, we can always come back some other day to-" he was cut short as Snowfang appeared into view, three worgen pursuing him.  
Edwards face turned to one of horror. The three humanoids were gaining terrain over the wolf, and the portal was starting to fade and diminish. Alyna felt a wince of pain as the portal magic fed on her energies.  
Snowfang, in a burst of adrenaline, sprinted the last few metres, crossing the portal. Edward pulled at Alyna and passed through, too, and, mere seconds later, the rift closed, leaving the worgen without their prey.  
On the other side of the portal, three figures crashed into the snow in front of the Crusader's tent of the Argent Tournament. Edward helped Alyna to her feet when he noticed she was bleeding heavily, her previously-black robe now had it's side covered with blood, and some of it was dribbling down to the snow, turning it a deep red colour. He panicked, and looked for the nearest person for aid. Justicar Mariel Trueheart, one of the Argent Crusade's soldiers, stood on the entrance to the tent, looking at the sky.  
The hunter moved towards her, his legs giving a warning strike of pain that they were going to give out. "Madame!" he tried, his voice nearly spent. The crusader was shook from her trance and noticed them. "Help...she needs a healer..." he said. The woman dismounted, and whispered a prayer to the Light.  
Edward felt a warm sea of holy magic pour over him, and promptly lost conciousness.

He awoke in a bed, cold air rushing over his face. The hunter opened his eyes to find a high elf staring at him, sitting on a chair next to him.  
She had white hair, not of old age (Actually, she seemed rather young), but white as the snowy peaks of Dun Morough. Blue eyes examined him curiously, like any high elf, and a white robe covered her whole body, with the symbol of the Crusade embroidered in the front.  
"So you're awake. Wonderful" she said, her voice cold and rasp.  
He tried to get up, but his body protested, only allowing him to sit. "What happened? Where am I?" he asked, looking around.  
"You are in the Tournament's hospital area, against my better judgement that you're not wounded at all" the elf replied, seemingly angry. "As to what happened, Justicar Trueheart said you passed out after arriving in front of her with rather...unusual company."  
He ignored her implicated question. "Where is Snowfang?" Edward wanted to ask for Alyna, too, but that would be just asking for trouble.  
"Your wolf? He had a few minor injuries on his back, so one of my colleagues bandaged him and is taking care of the creature, for now. Also, he had this" the doctor held a book, with a rather deep bite-mark on the cover and back, "on his mouth. I don't suppose you'd know what it is?"  
Edward reached for it. It was the diary Alyna thought they had dropped. "I do. But it's not mine, it's Al- the blood elf's, she had to present it as evidence."  
The high elf raised her eyebrows. "Then I suggest you give it back to her. You can't stay any longer on this hospital, anyway." She murmured something and light washed over Edward, giving him strenght to stand up. "Now, please vacate the room so someone that needs it more than you may be attended."  
Edward got out of the bed and the room, taking the book with him. "Pardon, but where is she? The blood elf, I mean."  
"Other side of the hospital. I think it was room 58, but if it isn't, ask one of my colleagues. Your wolf is in the head doctor's office." He quickly thanked her, and headed for where she had indicated.  
A high elf stood leaning on the door, seemingly deep in thought. He wasn't a doctor, however. A dagger dangled on his belt, and he was clad in leather. Several small bags clung to him, with who-knows-what inside, and the elf never had his hand too far from one.  
As Edward got closer, he noticed him, and straightened.  
"Pardon, sir, is this lady Alyna's room?" the hunter asked.  
The high elf nodded. "Yeah, it'll just be a minute."  
Edward thanked him and waited a little, until a blood elf got out from the room, and spoke to the high elf quickly in Thalassian. The hunter couldn't keep track of the words (Not that he would've understood; he knew no more than Common and a little Dwarven), but he did notice she seemed agitated. The blue-eyed man nodded a little and replied a phrase. That calmed her, and then she saw Edward. She nodded at him, so he entered the room.  
Alyna was sitting on a bed much like the one he had awakened in, covered head-to-toes in blankets and covers. She smiled warmly, and pointed at a chair next to her. Edward sat.  
A silence formed for a few minutes until he spoke. "How are you?"  
"I'm fine. The wound was not too deep, so I should be able to leave the hospital soon.  
"I'm glad." He smiled.  
"It's just a pity we had to leave the book... It had what we needed."  
"Well, actually, Snowfang brought it. It's kind of bitten though." Edward gave her the diary, pointing at the rather large bite-mark.  
She opened it and skimmed through the pages. "It's still readable, so it's fine, I suppose. Listen, Edward..." Alyna started.  
"Yes?"  
"Thanks for carrying me here."  
"It's no problem. " He smiled again. "Besides, I couldn't have gotten back without you."  
"True, I suppose. That doesn't mean I shouldn't be grateful" she added, smiling back. She reclined against the wall. "Do you want to hand it in to Crusader Rhydalla now?" Alyna asked.  
"No, you should give it to her. After all, you found it. It can wait a few hours." He replied.  
"Thanks, Edward."  
Silence fell over them again, and the hunter shifted uneasily in his chair. "I should be going, you've probably got more important visits than me. Send me a message or something when you heal and we'll go to hand in the diary."  
The mage nodded, and Edward left the room.

**Author's Note: It's still Monday somewhere, right? Tried to make it longer because seriously, last chapter was **_**too**_** short (I mean, 1200 words... That's low...)  
Review, please? I'd like to know if this is good, or if there's anything I should change, or any mistakes or typos I made.  
Also, next week's chapter may be kind of late, too, since this week I've got quite a lot of exams, but it will be there, rest assured.**


	8. Misty Cave

**Disclaimer: Still not own WoW...**  
-_  
Earlier...  
_Niya leaned on the wall as her high elf companion examined the large body of a Kvaldir lying face down on the ice. "It's dead, that's for sure" he said.

"Stab it for good measure." One of those pirates had tried to fake death and ambushed them. Not that he had been succesful, but still.

The 'tunnel' Lirei had convinced her to explore was more of a cave network, going down and down the island.

The caves were filled to the brim with Kvaldir, most of them swordsmen, but there had been a few raiders that attempted to impale them on harpoons. No spellcasters as of yet, though, and Niya was sure they had almost reached the final cavern.

Lirei brought his dagger down on the body, cutting open the neck and letting dark blood flow freely to the floor. He cleaned the blade on a rag and they moved on. The relatively simple tactic they had been employing for now proved it's usefulness once again as two more Kvaldir guards met their end at the rogue's knives. Just stealth, ambush, and heal if necessary. Lirei could dodge most hits, and the huge swords the vrykul wielded did not help them at all.

Niya was getting bored of this. Healing wasn't her favorite job, swinging her sword at things until they died was closer to it. She was stuck doing it, though, since she had left her armor and weapons at the Tournament. The elf yawned slightly, looking around for the next tunnel.  
There was one all right, and they went through, expecting to find more Kvaldir waiting on the other side.

Instead, a thick fog covered them, limiting their vision to a few meters ahead. The pair moved cautiously, taking care to be silent and watching out for hidden figures in the shadows. There was nothing, though.

The elves circled the room, but there were no more passages, no Kvaldir, and when they turned to leave, the entrance had disappeared into the mist.

Still, it felt like someone was watching them. A _presence_ was in the fog, slipping around them. A tinge of fear made it's way into Niya's mind. They continued walking through the mist, the _presence_ just out of their reach. At the same time, the paladin felt something grab her from behind, and she lashed out, striking with the knife Lirei had gave her at the fog.

A _hiss_ came from the shadowy clouds, and the blade was dripping in blood. _Someone_ was definitely out there. The elves followed the blood trail, feeling as the mist grew thicker and thicker, going to the very center of the room. The rogue stopped, and threw one of his knives at a particularly dense part of the fog. The same _hiss _from before, and the mist dispersed enough for the pair to see a large figure in the midst of the cloud.

Lirei ran at the Kvaldir and slashed his side, but the giant, with surprising agility, dodged the strike and kicked the elf, sending him back a few meters. The rogue stood up with a jump and attacked again, but he wasn't able to lyiand any blows.

Niya observed the fight, and noticed the Kvaldir was unharmed. Although his right hand had some traces of blood in it, the skin was pristine, with absolutely no scars branding it. He also was unarmed, attacking Lirei with punches and kicks rather than slashes and stabs. The paladin muttered a quick heal as her companion once again hit the ground, reinvigorating him.

The giant noticed her as the Light enveloped Lirei, and, with a flick of his hand, the mist thickened around Niya. It advanced on her like a vortex, slowly adquiring solidity until she saw no more than fog, anywhere she looked. The sounds from outside faded to silence.

Then it started constricting her, impeding her movements and eventually breathing. The elf felt like a gigantic hand had grabbed her and was now crushing her lungs. She had to do something quick, otherwise she would faint. One of her bones cracked under the pressure. Niya tried using the Light, but the mist strangled her, and no sound came out of her mouth.

She tried again, but the fog was unrelenting, not faltering in it's hold of her throat at any moment. The paladin struggled, black dots appearing on her vision already. Kicking the mist had no effect, since her feet just passed through, not hitting anything solid.

She started feeling light-headed. Suddenly, the mist released her throat for a second and Niya quickly whispered to the Light. A bright, golden sphere enveloped her, and kept the fog out, allowing the Blood Knight to breathe. She looked around, but the clouds still obscured her vision, and she could feel them weakening the shield with each passing moment.

The elf drew a deep breath and ran forward, the mist following her until she collided with something. Dark green skin was in front of her, and losing no time, Niya stabbed the highest point she could, then pulled downwards, making a huge gash.

An unearthly scream rang on her ears, and the fog in the room dispersed considerably, allowing her to see the Kvaldir in front of her, cursing and trying to chant a spell, but then cursing midway through and starting again.

Quickly, she raked his back again, eliciting another scream, and the mists pounding down on her disappeared, although the first wound she had inflicted vanished, along with half of the other one.

Niya kicked his right foot as she slashed the leg, causing the giant to falter and fall down. She sidestepped him and brought down her knife on his chest, trying to stab the heart.

The Kvaldir punched her, but his hand intercepted the strike and the raider's face changed to one of horror. Taking advantage of his momentary shock, Niya slashed his throat, and, all of a sudden, the whole room cleared, mist rushing into the wound and attempting to seal it, but the dark blood oozing out of the vrykul's throat was already pooling on the ground.

Still, Niya called the Light, covering the giant's body with the golden sphere that had enveloped her a few seconds earlier. The clouds tried to get in, but the shield kept them out, and, with a _hiss_, they vanished, just as the Kvaldir drowned on his own blood.

The paladin cancelled the shielding spell and Lirei jumped over the body, sword in hand, and cut off the head. "That was certainly... refreshing" he said, smirking.  
She looked at him, exasperated. "You weren't the one being suffocated."  
"I did have to dodge his punches and kicks, though. You okay?" the high elf asked.  
"Yeah, I guess." She straightened her hair, and then remembered her cracked bone. "Well, I think that mist broke one of my ribs, but that should be fixed in a few moments."  
He raised his eyebrows. "Need any help?"  
"Just hold the knife for a second." She bit her lip as the adrenaline from combat faded and the pain came back, then held both her hands over her stomach and prayed to the Light. A light illuminated her, and the rib started healing itself. It was not painless, however, and she held back a curse when the two halfs of her bone met and reformed. "That's it, I'm fine now."  
Lirei smirked. "If you say so." He looked around the room, and now that the mist had vanished, several objects could be seen in a corner.

On a table, there was a map, an orb and a bag which contained mana crystals.

Niya examined the orb. It was empty inside, but traces of fog were smeared around the glass. When she touched it, a swirling mist appeared and would've gotten out of the orb had the paladin not immediately removed her hand and casted a holy shield around it.

The rogue was looking at the map, trying to decipher what was it about. The paper looked like a child's rendition of the isles north of the Argent Tournament, with several green dots on some islands and a red dot over the one Niya and Lirei were in now. A word was sketched over Hrothgar's Landing, but, apart from that, there was no text or any indication of what the map represented.

"Should we hand this to the Crusaders?" Niya said.  
"Probably" the high elf replied, then looked at the crystals in the paladin's hands. "Of course, there's no reason to _forget_ to tell them there were mana crystals in the bag..."  
She smirked and pocketed the crystals, then put the orb and the map in the bag.

Alyna sighed as she spent the rest of the day being confined to a bed. This was stupid. Normally, when someone was injured, the procedure was to throw some Light on their wounds and send them on their ways, but when the priest had tried to do that, he'd felt drained, and her side hadn't healed an inch.

She theorized it was probably that thing the worgen had been wearing, the necklace, but why had it affected him? The wound had been caused by _other_ worgen, even, but what other explanation was there? Healing magic worked on anyone living, and she was still breathing.

Nevertheless, the doctor had bandaged her side and told her that she would be fine at the end of the day, so at least she wouldn't have to wait here for the effects to dissipate. That was a relief. She hated doing nothing, it made her feel _useless_.

So when they finally let her go, she went straight to the training area to check if she could cast spells, if they were as powerful as before or not, if they required more magic to work, and related concerns. Thankfully, the effects of the amulet appeared to be gone.

She briefly contemplated the idea of going to hand in the diary to the Argent woman now, but, having only been let out of the hospital in the late night, Edward was probably asleep now, so she would have to wait until morning for that.

She could, also, check up on Niya. Her sister had an uncanny tendency to get in trouble with and without any external help. Alyna was sure she had already done something regrettable, if not outright immoral. The paladin had told her she had set up her tent on the north side of the tournament grounds, so she headed there.

The tent was not far from the crag Niya had pushed her from, but not close enough for a clumsy move to cause anyone to fall down to the ocean. It was red, gold and black, the classic colors of the Sunreavers, but otherwise identical to the Argent tents.

Alyna entered the tent to find her sister and that high elf from the ship sitting in the ground, and periodically grabbing something from a bag between them. When Niya turned to see who had came in, her eyes were blazing emeralds, literally illuminating her face. A crystal was in her hand, seething with arcane magic.

The mage was about to berate her sister, but the crystal called to her, the vortex inside swirling, beckoning Alyna to absorb its power, a familiar hunger taking over her mind until she was sitting next to them, grabbing a crystal and-

_'Stop!_' a voice in her mind commanded, and snapped her out of the trance. She dropped the crystal and ran out, as far from temptation as she could, until she reached her own tent. Alyna dropped in the bed and tried to forget about the whole thing.

**Author's Note: Okay, so maybe **_**slight**_** wasn't the word I was looking for when I said this would be late. Apologies for that.  
Alexander Raphel: Thanks! I try to make them longer whenever I can, but unless I do just one chapter per week, most updates are going to be about 2-3k words.  
Heart of Lies: Thanks!  
Palish of Aggramar: Thanks!  
Takawai: Thanks! I'm glad you noticed.  
WolfPaladin: On the end because it's kind of long.  
Hunter thing: From Wowhead:  
"Humans have long been proficient in the art of hunting and trapping wildlife, and while it was their Elven allies that wielded the bow and arrow in wars past, many humans have been shown to be quite adept at the art, one even managed to achieve the rank of Ranger Lord before being turned the Scourge. He is more commonly known as Nathanos Blightcaller. And in Northrend, much of the Grizzly Hills is occupied by human hunters and trappers." (**** forums&topic=117770/explanations-for-each-new-race-class-combo****)  
Not that I knew that, though. I assumed Hunters had always been able to be humans, so your correction is still valid. Thanks!  
Also, thanks for the correction in 'fastly' :)  
**


	9. A Seer's Crystal

**Disclaimer: If I owned WoW, I wouldn't be writing **_**fan**_**fiction now, wouldn't I?**

"...so basically, it's impossible for the Black Knight to have been from Silverpine." Edward finished, pointing at the diary.

Crusader Rhydalla nodded. "As I suspected. I'll have to read the book thoroughly to see if you missed anything, but everything seems to indicate the Knight is lying. However, with the evidence we have so far the only thing we can prove is his lack of honesty, not the deaths.  
You will have to investigate how the Black Knight's opponents-to-be died, but fortunately I know a way to reveal the truth.  
In Crystalsong Forest, there are some satyrs who carry a special crystal for their magic. Those crystals, if used correctly, will aid us in the investigation. It shouldn't take too long to get one, so I expect you to be here tommorrow morning with it" she concluded, and eyed the mage.

Alyna sighed, and took out a portal rune, cursing under her breath. A few choice words and a twisting vortex formed in front of them, then grew to the size of a door. Edward saluted the Crusader and crossed the rift, Snowfang trailing behind him. The elf followed, murmuring not-so-kind things about people who thought mages were taxis.

The magical aroma of Dalaran invaded her nostrils as the city materialized in front of her. The small room destined for portal-making was crowded, as adventurers, other mages, apprentices, archmages and even a warlock used their powers to transport themselves.

Alyna found Edward waiting by the door, and the pair then walked around the building to find the crystal-gate for the forest under them. A good number of Kirin Tor officials guarded the door, and some of the city's inhabitants were outside, shouting at them. The elf managed to make out the words 'incompetence' and 'inconceivable', but with all the yelling, the rest was inaudible. She decided to ignore them for the time being, and asked one of the Kirin Tor guards "Pardon, but what is the matter with them?"

The human wizard replied irritably "The gem for Crystalsong Forest isn't working. We're trying to repair it, but they were bothering the portal experts, so we ordered them out of the building and now they've gathered half the city to yell at us until the portal is fixed."

Edward sighed. "Great, now we're stuck in here."

"Well, we could hire a dragonhawk at the flightmaster's" Alyna suggested.

"No, they don't sell flights to places without a flightmaster, since that incident with gryphon kidnappers. Say, do you have feathers?"

Alyna raised her eyebrows. "Of course. Why?" she inquired suspiciously.

"We could jump and you cast that slow fall spell when we're about to hit the ground. What's wrong?" he asked after seeing her expression.

The mage quickly recomposed herself. "Nothing. Your idea is sound."

Edward was about to ask again, but decided against it. "Alright. Do you know if there's any place to jump from easily around here?"

"There's a tunnel in the Underbelly, I think" she said, and they walked to a ramp, where two guards stood watching. One eyed her suspiciously, but the other glared at him and they let the pair pass.

"Be careful down there." The first one said. "You can never know what's lurking in the shadows."

Alyna nodded, and, folllowed by Edward, descended into the dark sewers of Dalaran. Rushing through the narrow corridors, they reached a long tunnel with light at the end.

"There. Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked when they were near the edge. Looking down, it was a long fall to the ground.

Edward shrugged. "Do you see any other way?"

"I suppose not" the elf replied, and, taking a deep breath, jumped off. Snowfang followed, and finally, the hunter.

The winds howled around Edward, throwing him west, but he was able to direct his fall near Alyna. The ground was coming towards them fast, and he was beggining to fear the mage had forgotten to cast the spell, but, with less than five meters to a very unpleasant death, the falling became gliding, and he landed easily.

His temporary terror must've showed in his face, because Alyna had a very elven smirk on her face. He threw her a glare, but that only increased the simper. "Where's Snowfang?" Edward asked irritably.

The wolf showed from behind Alyna, and she petted its head. "Shall we go?" the mage inquired, a slight mocking tint in her voice.  
"Yes" was his simple answer before marching off. Then he realized he was going east when the satyrs were west and changed directions mid- step, causing him to fall rather ridiculously.

This time, however, the elf let out a small laugh. Watching his expression, she recomposed herself and extended him a hand. He took it a bit reticently, and stood up. Silently he walked west, his two companions trailing behind.

Annoying elves. Always smirking and mocking people. Even Alyna spoke with an air of superiority, looking down at any non-elven folk. Bah! He really had to congratulate himself for offering her to help in this investigation. Why couldn't it have been a human at the necromancers' camp, hmm? But no, an elf it had to be, and not even a night one at that.

Still, he had to admit, the sweet sound of her laugh was pleasing to his ears. And her hair was definitely a wonder to behold. The only problem was the eyes. Why couldn't they be blue, instead of green? Definitely would make things simpler.

Although he wasn't a fanatical Alliance supporter like many adventurers, he didn't like the Horde one bit. They had invaded _their_ world, burned Stormwind, killed thousands of innocent people, and, judging by what the draenei said, massacred their race almost to extintion.

Not that the blood elves had been there. But they had willingly sided with them, betrayed the Alliance, enslaved a naaru, and a sizable part had almost brought the Burning Legion's commander into Azeroth. And that without taking into account the times before Arthas.

He looked at Alyna and tried to picture her doing what he was thinking about before. Even though he had seen what she could do first-hand in the Scourge camp, it was hard imagining her killing anyone innocent.

Still, he just had to focus on the eyes. That told anyone all they needed to know. He still remembered an elf, in Outland, caressing a mana wyrm, and then suddenly absorbing him. Or the Wretched near the Sunwell, attacking anyone to get a scrap of magic.

His mind also suggested the Blood Knights, but he banished the thought before it brought any bad memories. Besides, all this thinking about evil things the blood elves did wasn't very helpful, thanks to the fact Alyna was aiding him in this investigation and not really asking for anything in return.

A crystal satyr resting against a tree shook off those thoughts, as the hunter carefully aimed his arrow towards the creature. Snowfang hid behind a tree, ready to pounce at it whenever it tried to attack them, and Alyna silently chanted a spell.

She looked at him, and he nodded before letting loose the arrow, a ball of fire and ice flying alongside it. The projectile struck the satyr in the chest, but the crystals growing in its skin lessened the impact.

Immediately the creature rushed towards the pair, but a blur of white crashed against it, sending it to the ground. Edward drew another arrow and let it loose, the elven mage next to him muttering swiftly.

Ice formed in the air and flew at the satyr, with occasionally a frostbolt striking the creature. The wolf raked its claws in the parts of skin without any crystals preventing damage around.

Another arrow flew and struck the satyr's neck in an exposed patch. The creature seemed to go berserk, throwing Snowfang off it and rushing for Edward, its huge crystal claws outstretched, but Alyna froze it with a word and the hunter seized his chance, unsheathing his sword and slashing the demon's throat.

Dark blood oozed out of the wound, and with another strike the head was completely cut off from the rest of the body, and the angered expression the satyr wore at the moment was also the last.

Quickly, Edward checked Snowfang for injuries, but the wolf seemed unharmed. Meanwhile, Alyna browsed the body for the seer's crystal Crusader Rhydalla had ordered them to bring.

"Any luck?" the hunter asked.

"No. The only things it had on its pouch were some coins and weeds. No crystals anywhere." Alyna replied, throwing the small bag at him.

"Well, let's look for another one then." Edward said, and marched off.

Several hours and _a lot_ of satyrs later, the pair's seer crystal count was unchanged. Alyna was getting frustrated. Now they were fighting against two of the demons at the same time, Snowfang keeping one at bay while Edward and Alyna attacked the other.

The hunter had abandoned the idea of using his bow here after wasting a good hundred arrows in a single fight. The elf was doubtful about his prowess with the sword at first, but it turned about that, while he wasn't as good as a warrior, he definitely could hold his own with a blade.

With a clean slice he decapitated the creature and quickly browsed its corpse for crystals, but, guess what, not a single one.

Sighing, he moved on to the other satyr and was about to take its head off, but Alyna stopped him. This was getting nowhere, but she had an idea. Freezing the demon's legs and arms, the elf unsheathed her dagger and asked "Do you speak Common, creature?"

The satyr was confused at first, but, seeing the blade in the mage's hand dangerously close to his neck, he answered "Yes."

"Good." She slashed an exposed part of his shoulder and dark blood started to fall to the ground. "We're looking for a seer's crystal. Where do you keep them?" Alyna asked, her dagger hovering near the demon's face.

The satyr looked down at his leg momentarily, but, realizing his mistake, he started speaking hurriedly "South of here, there's a cave, seers liv-"

Impatiently, Edward stabbed the creature in the chest and examined his leg more closely. Indeed, there was a hidden pouch there, the same color of the fur, but clearly of a different material, and inside it there was a small glowing crystal.

Alyna grabbed the tiny bag and put it in one of her pockets while taking out a portal rune. The familiar vortex appeared in front of them, and, wasting no time, they crossed it, materializing in the Tournament grounds a few seconds after.

The sun was not yet touching the horizon in the west, but it wouldn't be long before the night took over. Quickly, the pair walked towards the main tent to give Rhydalla the crystal.

The Crusader told them she'd 'imbue the seer's crystal with the holy power of the Light', to help with the investigation, but that it was too late to use it today, and to come back tommorrow, so Alyna was just wandering the camp aimlessly when the person she least wanted to see right now appeared in front of her.

The paladin's eyes were still glowing rather brightly, although not as much as the night before. Her Blood Knight armor contrasted with the Argent tabard over it, something that made Alyna raise her eyebrows a little.

"Do you have a problem, mage?" Niya asked, her voice a little irritated.

Alyna shook off the hood, revealing her face. "No more than you, _paladin_."

The Blood Knight eyed her warily. "I suppose you want to talk?"

"Not here" she replied, and walked towards her tent. Barely a second passed after Niya entered when she resumed. "Do you have any idea of what you did? Any at all?"

Her sister crossed her arms. "Yes, and I'd do it again."

" You were consuming crystals! And not just one or two, either! For fel's sake, Niya, your face was _glowing_! Do you want to end like the Wretched, now?"

"I have perfect control over it, don't you dare compare me to those-"

"Perfect control?! You were almost bathing in energy! The next thing I know, you'll murder someone to-"

" You have no right to say that! I saw your face, you _wanted_ it too. And before the Sunwell, hmm? Don't think I don't remember how you sucked the air in Tempest Keep!"

"At least I didn't sneak into a mana forge and try to drink felblood!"

"I never did that!" Niya almost screamed.

"No, you were probably too busy sleeping with the guards or something!"

Edward was sure that, whatever was going on inside the tent, it wasn't polite conversation. It was in Thalassian, so he barely recognized some words, but the tone was impossible to miss.

It sounded like a song, in some twisted way. A song of anger and conflict, with lyrics slicing the air as daggers.

Perhaps it wasn't wise to interrupt, but this seemed to be getting nowhere. The two voices were rising in volume, not calming down at all.

A shriek of pain and a sharp descent of the temperature around the tent, and the hunter decided to get in before Alyna murdered someone or was murdered herself.

Initially he was confused. Two blood elves, both female, were fighting. One had a sharp-looking sword and was dressed in a Blood Knight's attire, and the other was definitely a mage, dark robes covering her body and a dagger at her belt.

However, as much as his brain told him Alyna had to be the robed elf, the two were really similar. Both had very white skin, although the 'paladin', if she could be called that, had a slightly more tanned tone.

One had lovely red, almost lava-ish, hair, and the other blond with a slight tint of orange. Their eyes glowed brightly, somewhat blue instead of the usual green, but in the case of the mage, they returned to fel everytime she finished a spell.

Gathering courage, he cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the elves.

They recovered rather quickly, standing at a distance and with weapons sheathed. The paladin said something in their language, to which Alyna blushed a little but replied with one sharp word.

The Blood Knight mocked her and left the tent.

An awkward silence fell over the two, but Alyna broke it. "Apologies for that" she offered a bit shyly.

"It's alright. Everyone gets angry once in a while." He smiled. "Who was she?" the hunter inquired.

The blood elf sighed. "My sister. She... really drives me mad sometimes."

Edward nodded. "Yeah, you told me."

"So, what brings you here?" she asked, brushing off the previous subject.

The human gulped. He had thought about it, and as bad as the idea was to his more rational side, there wasn't anything really wrong with it.

As long as it didn't go beyond boundaries, that is. Just as a... friend. Alyna was a friend, after all. And being in the Argent Crusade negated all arguments based on her Horde membership. Any questions could be answered simply with 'Crusade business'.

He had to get on with other possible champions-to-be, because if not, infighting, rather than the Scourge, would be their end.

Alyna was still waiting for an answer, quietly observing the hunter.

Edward shook off his thoughts. "I was wondering if... you..."

"If I?" the elf inquired, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Ifyouwouldfinditagreeabletoh avedinnerwithmeindalaran" he said, a little too quick. "I mean, if you would like to have dinner with me. In Dalaran. Tonight."

She pondered about it for a moment and then nodded. "Of course."

**Author's Note: Sorry for the extreme late-ness of this chapter. I had a **_**lot**_** of exams and will continue to do so until November 20. I may get some time and update, but 'til then, I can't promise anything.**

**EDIT: I fail. I was leveling a character in the Argent Tournament today and, doing the Black Knight chain, found out Crusader Rhydalla is actually an elf and not a human as I had assumed (I've no idea why I thought she was human in the first place). So Alyna's mutterings about 'ignorant inferior races' wouldn't make sense at all.  
I fixed it now, though.  
**

**Now, for the reviews:**

** WolfPaladin:****"Hi, my name is Roy. I'm a magic addict."  
Group: "Hi Roy."*  
*One of the blood mage quotes in WC3.**

** Katie-Kat1129: Thanks!**

** AlexM: Thanks! I spent like, two hours thinking of names, lol.**

** Guest: Thanks!**


	10. A Night In Dalaran

**Author's Note: I am alive! And with an update at last! And with many flimsy excuses for the lateness in the ending A/N!**

**World of Warcraft belongs to Blizzard.  
**

-w-

Some minutes later, Alyna conjured a portal to the mage-city, and the pair passed through. Once they arrived, Edward headed for the Legerdemain Lounge, but an awkward silence fell over both of them while they walked. It didn't last long, however.

"Alyna... why were you fighting with your sister?" the hunter asked. "It seemed serious."

The mage shrugged. "You do know that, before the Sunwell was restored, blood elves were addicted to magic?"

_'As if you aren't now.'_ Edward thought, but nodded anyway.

"Niya, my sister, somehow got hold of a large quantity of arcane crystals, while we were in Outland. It was enough to keep both of us fed for a month, but she consumed them all in less than an hour. And as is normal for addictions, she started to need more and more until even a stash as large as that one would not satisfy her. She was on the edge of becoming one of the Wretched. Luckily, the Sunwell was restored and most of us blood elves were healed of the addiction.

But that didn't stop her from continuing to consume crystals. She did not need them, but for some reason she kept doing it. For a while, it seemed as if her need for them was satisfied with the energies of the Sunwell anyway, but as she still got more than she needed, it was not enough. I don't know how she got the crystals, since they're banned in Silvermoon now to avoid more people becoming Wretched, but one day I found her consuming a... significant quantity of them. We had a fight, but I thought I had dissuaded her from doing it anymore. I was wrong.

Yesterday I walked in to Niya's face _glowing_. I'm not exaggerating. I did not confront her at the time, but when we returned from Crystalsong today I came upon her by chance. She _accused_ me. _Me_. Of telling her to stop only because _I_ wanted the crystals. I made a comment that was... irrelevant at the moment, and then things got worse. She slashed at my arm" Alyna pointed at her left one, "and I was about to freeze her when you arrived."

So _that _was why Alyna was so angry. Edward could sympathize. But still, for _one_ comment to end with violence, it had to be pretty offensive. "What did you say that angered her so much?"

She suddenly found the floor tiles extremely interesting. "I said she slept with someone she should've killed."

The human raised his eyebrows.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't say it just to spite her. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if she did" the mage added, and murmured, more to herself than to Edward, "him and the rest of the guards as well."

"Was that person someone important?" he asked.

"No, merely some engineer at a manaforge. My point was that she didn't care at all who he was. We were in a reconnaissance mission. I almost got killed because of it. I was waiting for her to show up and instead three felblood warlocks appear. When I asked her why she wasn't there, she said she was 'busy' at the time. And it isn't the only time she's done it, either."

"She does that _often_?"

Alyna nodded. The door to the Lounge was open in front of them, but there was something blocking it.

-w-

Alyna glanced at the something, or rather, someone, blocking the door. He was tall and brawny, like most male night elves, and on his belt rested a dagger. His skin was a mix between purple and pink, and his eyes glowed slightly with a golden hue.

He was saying something in that prehistoric language of Kaldorei while walking out of the Lounge, but as he did so, Edward, who was looking at Alyna at the time, collided with him, causing the tree-rat to curse profusely.

"Watch where you're going, imbecile" said the night elf, pushing the hunter with his shoulder as he passed. He shot Alyna a hateful look and murmured something in Darnassian, walking away.

"Are you alright?" the mage asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Though he could certainly use some manners" he grumbled, entering the Lounge.

"What can you expect, of a Kaldorei?" Alyna replied. She sneered. "They are all savage and uncivilized beasts."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "It's not like that. Most of them are not as... uncivil as that one. I've met many night elves who are decent people." He looked around at the tables and sat down at one near the window.

Alyna shrugged and sat opposite him. "Hardly. All the night elves I know have tried to either kill me, or worsen my life in some way."

"That probably has to do more with you being Horde and they Alliance than the fact they were night elves" the hunter stated, glancing at the bar.

" would have to explain why you don't behave like them if that is true, though" she said, as he gestured for a waiter.

He paused. "It would be pointless. Why fight the Horde if there is an even greater threat, like the Scourge?"

Alyna nodded slightly. "Yes. Arthas needs to be dealt with first."

"Have you ever fought against the Alliance, though?" he asked, suddenly.

She shook her head. "No. I never had to, and I prefer not to actively look for trouble."

"You mean you've never gone to an actual battle? An skirmish in Warsong Gulch? Alterac? Arathi?"

She looked at him oddly. "No... Why, have you?"

He smiled, somewhat proudly. "Yes, many times. In the Alliance, it is an honor to participate in these battles. To serve the King and country. For glory and- What?"  
Alyna was laughing under her breath, trying to cover her mouth with a hand. "Nothing, nothing. That just... reminds me of orcs."

"Orcs? Why would that remind you of those beasts?" Edward asked, somewhat offended.

"It's just that... They say the same things, about battle and honor and glory... With an almost equal wording, too. 'Glory' and 'Victory or death!', that kind of thing" she replied.

"Bah. We are much more disciplined than those filthy creatures. They just charge and hope to win, no other strategies attempted."

"Indeed? How would you know?" the mage asked.

"As I said, I have gone many times to battle the Horde. From just observing how they attack, it's easy to conclude they have simple, direct plans of attack. Which are almost never followed."

"For example?"

"Well..."

-w-

"_Alright, men, get moving!" the captain of Edward's squadron said, eyeing the four men under his command. "Tbe Horde's not gonna stay put at their base, I assure you! Aim at the entrances and make sure you can reach the warning bells in a moment's notice!"_

"_Yes sir!" four voices said in unison, one of them Edward's own. He and another archer ran to stand guard from a ledge overlooking Silverwing Hold's outskirts. They were tasked to watch the eastern entrance,and sound a bell if Horde approached. Traps were laid in the path, ready to activate at the slightest touch. _

_His companion, an elderly man with grayish hair, held a crossbow warily. His eyes, tired-looking, observed the battlefield, clearly looking for someone specific. From pre-battle talk Edward knew he was the oldest son of the Claybridges, and his younger brother was participating in a battle for the first time. Against his elder sibling's advice, he had went directly into the frontlines, with the group tasked to locate and capture the Horde's treasury._

_It was only logical, too, that his brother was tremedously worried about him, and constantly checking the battle with his spyglass. And so, Edward was the only one really watching the entrance._

_Not that it needed guarding, really. Nobody ever ventured here and the traps were enough to ward off a small army. Alliance Command had really made sure this path was impervious to the Horde's advances. The only way to get into Silverwing Hold was flying (and there were archers posted to shoot down any enemy wyverns) or through the tunnel. And in the tunnel the rest of his squad awaited, weapons ready to strike down any invader._

_In Edward's opinion (which wasn't worth a lot, really, since this was perhaps his third or fourth battle), their chances to win this battle were mind-boggingly huge. In any minute, the Alliance squadron sent to capture the Horde's treasury would be back any minute, and then the battle would be over, as it had been the-_

_A not-so-distant warcry of 'LOK'TAR OGAR!' took Edward and his companion by surprise. A group of about two dozen trolls and orcs was quickly advancing towards their position, axes and wicked-looking swords in hand._

_Sounding the warning bell, Edward notched an arrow and aimed towards the group, releasing it just as his companion fired his crossbow. The two projectiles struck an orc, but he quickly raised her shield to block them. _

_A significant part of the Horde soldiers broke off and took cover behind a fallen tree, but the rest shouted another warcry and charged towards the two archers. Edward and his companion lost no time and shot arrow after arrow, bolt after bolt, quickly thinning the ranks of the Horde soldiers. As they neared the entrance, the traps activated and the leader of the group, a tall, burly orc with numerous face paintings and tatoos, stepped into one of the exploding traps, which blew up immediately, blasting the orc with hot, burning fire. _

_The rest, seeing their leader and some of their squadmates fall, broke into a run and took cover behind a wall. The orc who had been hit by the trap stood up again, screamed 'LOK'TAR OGAR!' for what had to be the twentieth time, and charged towards the archers. Several arrows hit him, but he seemed unfazed, even throwing his shield away. Traps exploded all around him, burning flesh, but he still charged with the energy of a thousand demons. _

_Edward, paralyzed at the seemingly invulnerable orc being very close to them, breathed deeply and notched yet another arrow. He aimed carefully, and released the projectile, which flew through the air and struck the orc in an eye._

_Covered in blood, with arrows protruding from almost every part on his body, half his flesh burnt and on fire, the orc stopped his charge for a second. He grabbed the arrow embedded in his eye, and, with yet another 'LOK'TAR OGAR!", pulled it out, getting out half his eye as well. He threw the arrow down to the ground and grinned at Edward with a smile lacking several teeth. He screamed his Light-damned warcry yet again and was about to charge towards the archers when a trumpet-like sound interrupted him._

_A horse-riding armored figure passed right next to him, and, with one slash of his sword, sliced the head right off the orc's body. More knights were arriving as well, riding towards the places where the rest of the Horde soldiers were taking cover._

_Seeing this, instead of fleeing like any normal person would do, the beasts (for that was what they were, in Edward's opinion) screamed the warcry, and charged _towards the knights_. They were killed quickly, but none showed any trace of fear in their faces, or any intentions of surrender._

_With a cheer of 'Long live the Alliance!', the knights rode back inside Silverwing Hold, nodding at the archers as they passed by. One of them was carrying a heavy-looking bag with the Horde symbol sewn into it, so Edward assumed the battle was finally over._

-w-

"I still don't get why that shows they do not follow plans" Alyna commented, skewering a small potato with her fork. The waitress had come while Edward told the story, and now both adventurers had plates with food in front of them.

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Well, they retreated at the first sight of trouble, except for the leader. And if they all could do that... semi-invulnerability thing, they would've probably gotten to where we were. Plus, afterwards they didn't even surrender."

She shook her head. "Still do not see your point. Not all orcs can go berserk at will. It's a simple reaction to threats. Fight or flight. That orc would have probably died after he finished you. The others just preferred staying alive while he did all the work, probably."  
"If they wanted to stay alive so much, why in the name of the Light did they charge a squad of _armored knights_? They could've just surrendered" Edward replied.

"That is probably thanks to some quite horrifying rumors that are passed around in the Horde. That prisoners are tortured for no reason, beat to the brink of death and then set on fire, impaled on spikes for entertainment, enslaved and forced to work in the Alliance mines..." the mage said, casually. She drank a small gulp of wine, smirking at Edward's horrified face. "What, isn't it true?" she added, somewhat mockingly.

"Of course not! We'd do no such thing! We are not barbaric beasts who take pleasure in the pains of others, like the Horde! If anything, I've heard that that is what happens to Horde prisoners."

"Obviously. It is a pretty common strategy. Scares the soldiers enough to fight to the death. And it goes coupled with saying the Horde/Alliance would never do such a thing, to point out clearly who is the 'good' side, and who is the 'evil' side" Alyna explained. "It's quite a powerful motivation."

"Wait, didn't you say you did not join the Horde army? How do you know this, then?" Edward asked, curious.

"No, but I don't need to. You can't walk around Orgrimmar without having war propaganda shoved down your throat. And I lived in an Alliance city for years, I know that it happens there as well. Every time war with the Horde, or some other enemy, was near, hundreds of people carrying flags and trumpets appeared in Dalaran, ready to 'educate' you on why you should join the army of whoever was in charge then, 'for glory and honor!'"

The human raised an eyebrow. "Really? How much time were you in Dalaran, anyway?"

Alyna shrugged. "About seventy-five years. I only left when Arthas destroyed the city."

Edward opened his eyes wide. "Seventy-five years? How can you stand to be in a single place for so long? Didn't you ever go somewhere else?"

"I did visit Silvermoon from time to time, but yes, most of the time I stayed in Dalaran. It's just... There were so many things to learn, to study. There still are... Not even if I studied for all of my life I could learn half the things there are to know in just the main library." She smiled slightly.

The hunter smiled back. "So you like books?"

She nodded. "Yes. I could spend my whole lifetime reading and I'd never get bored. Why, do you?"

He shrugged. "Somewhat. I prefer going out and experiencing things, but I do read from time to time. I doubt I read the same things that you do, though."

"What do you read, then?" Alyna asked, curiously.

"Well..."

-w-

Stupid human. Stupid sister. Damn them both. Especially the latter. Couldn't she have a little peace for a while? Without interruptions from self-righteous mages?

Gah. She _hated_ it. The constant nagging, contempt, and that absolutely idiotic talking-to-a-child voice. Not to mention the frequent exaggeration. Alyna always made a mountain out of a molehill. So what if she was more lax in following 'laws' and 'morals'? It wasn't like she was the only one, for fel's sake!

And starting violence as soon as Niya suggested the mage was... born out of marriage, to say it politely. Seriously! Just mention their parents a _single_ time, and she went berserk. 'Oh, they were great and noble and honorable! How dare you suggest they don't deserve being put in a gold pedestal next to the ultimate heroes of elvenkind!'

Yes, they were good people, but not the saints Alyna painted them as. If not, why did the mage go to Dalaran as soon as she could? To escape, obviously. But nooo, she apparently forgot all about the innumerable, idiotic 'rules' of the house. Don't go out without permission, be back before ten, never fail an exam, dress adequately, don't keep secrets... Niya could go on and on with the pointless things. Oh, she arrived a _few_ minutes after the allowed time? What better than to check her fireball-avoiding skills? Forget to mention insignificant stuff, such as her current boyfriend, to her parents? A wonderful opportunity to practice unarmed combat against water elementals!

Of course, Alyna _never_ had to do any of that. She did something that Niya would be heavily punished for? Apologize, and go do whatever you want!

It made her sick everytime the mage mentioned how great and generally awesome their parents were. If she truly meant it, it would have been Alyna, not Niya, who stayed behind in Silvermoon for fifteen more years, enduring the constant dismissal of her achievements, always being compared to the 'amazing' successes of her sister, being ignored unless she did something 'wrong'...

Damn them. And to think Niya would have had to stand them a hundred years more, had the invasion of Quel'thalas never happened.

Not that she thought that it was a good thing, obviously, but while the bad stuff was much more than the good, Niya preferred to remain positive. Focus on how it was better now. She'd never forget what happened, but she wouldn't only think of the ways they had suffered, and ignore the ways they had improved.

For one, after the elves were almost exterminated, those who weren't loyal to Silvermoon had been revealed. The city was mostly traitor-free now, with none of those blue-eyed betrayers wandering around. That was a good thing.

A part of her mind reminded her of Lirei. Was she not a traitor herself, if she was friendly with him? No, of course not. Lirei was special.

Special how?, that little, stupid part of her mind asked. Well, he was nice, and good-looking, and-

"Boo!" A voice behind her whispered in the paladin's ear.

"Ah!" she jumped slightly, startled. "I really hate when you do that," she mumbled, a little angry, adding, in a more accusing tone, "it's quite annoying."

"That is the whole point of doing it" Lirei replied, appearing in front of her sporting a wide grin. "If it wasn't annoying, then it wouldn't be fun, would it?"

She smiled. "You do have a point." The Blood Knight looked around, carefully eyeing the Sunreaver tent, which was a few dozen meters away. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

The high elf shrugged. "Just dropped by to see if you were here. Is anything wrong?" he asked.

She shaked her head. "No. I just had a fight with my sister."

"The crystal thing, I suppose?" Lirei sighed slightly when she nodded. "Told you she would be angry at you for that."

"It was your idea, you know" she murmured.

"I never said she was right for being angry. Most people...don't understand" the rogue replied, in a conciliatory tone.

"True" Niya said, and for a while, neither blood elf, nor high elf, spoke. Then, she broke the silence. "It's a pity there aren't any more."

Lirei nodded. "Indeed. Nothing is better than a crystal." She chuckled lowly at that. "What?"

"Nothing?" she asked, leaning against him.

"No, no thing." He eyed her carefully.

"Are you really sure of that?" The paladin smirked.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

Immediately, she backed away a few steps. "Alright. See you later, then."

The high elf raised an eyebrow, and Niya flashed him an impish grin, then walked away.

-w-

**Author's Note (for those that care about it, for some strange reason): So... Are you ready for a torrent of excuses and apologies? A river? A sea? An ocean? ...Wait, I don't have that many. Carry on.**

**Ahem. Let's start with why I don't updated on November, when I said I would. Well, you remember I said I had exams, right? The thing is, those exams were the finals for the year, which basically decide if you pass or not. If you fail at one of those exams, then you have to do another exam, on December, which is like ten times harder, so you have to study all day (and possibly night, too, if you're bad in that particular subject *coughMathcough*) for three weeks straight to pass _that_ one. Do you get what I'm trying to say?**

**In any case, I did pass the December exam, so you're probably asking "Why didn't you update after the exam, then?" Good question. There was Christmas, which I know isn't really a perfect excuse, but I had to help dressing the tree and that stuff. And taking care of some poor bird that almost got eaten by a cat, since my sister said it was 'cute' and decided to take it home. You may be wondering 'is it really so hard to take care of a small bird?' Perhaps. I don't really know. What I do know is, it is really hard to take care of a small, wounded, crazy-suicidal bird that tries to fly down from the second floor of a house, when it has a broken wing and injured claws. It is also hard to take care of an aggressive, human-fearing bird that attacks you when you try to prevent it from committing suicide. I swear, that thing was the most time-consuming pet I ever had (Luckily, or not, now someone else is taking care of it. I pity that poor person). And when I wasn't doing that, I was helping with Christmas/New Year decorations.**

**After that, I had to help clean the Christmas and New Year stuff laying around the house, and well... That finished yesterday. Today, I finally got some free time and finished this chapter. That free time was caused by today being my birthday, too.**

**There probably won't be any chapter tommorrow, since I'm absolutely exhausted and will likely sleep the whole day.**

**Anyway, on with review replies:**

** Takawai: Thanks!**

** WolfPaladin: Thanks xD**

** SnakeofTime: Thanks! **

** Anquietas: Thanks. I do hope it was interesting, though I'm afraid it was mostly action-less.**

…***shot for adding a huge A/N***


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